Wilfred Nderitu is a distinguished Kenyan lawyer and former chair of the Governing Council of the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).
He is recognized for his extensive work in criminal justice, international law, and human rights, and is currently the Managing Partner at Nderitu & Partners Advocates in Nairobi.
Career
He gained international prominence as the Common Legal Representative for victims in the International Criminal Court (ICC) case against William Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang, from 2012 to 2016.
Wilfred Ngunjiri Nderitu has also served as counsel in tribunals for Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Lebanon.
The legal practitioner has been the chair of the Board at Crime Si Poa, an organization focused on crime prevention and social justice.
He is the former chairperson of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya).
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The lawyer has served as the Vice-Chairperson of the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) Committee on Criminal Justice Reforms.
He was a member of the task force that recommended constitutional changes to ensure judicial independence in Kenya’s 2010 Constitution.
Ngunjiri was conferred the rank of Senior Counsel by the President of Kenya in 2020, a title reserved for lawyers of high professional integrity and experience.
His early career also included time as a Protection Officer for the UNHCR, which laid the foundation for his later work in human rights.
Education
Wilfred Ngunjiri Nderitu was born and raised in Nyeri, Kenya.
He holds an LLB with honors from the University of Nairobiin 1988 and an MA in International Relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, class of 2010-2011.
At the Kenya School of Law, he completed his postgraduate Diploma in Law and was admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya in 1989.
The lawyer holds a Certificate in Conflict Analysis from the United States Institute of Peace.
He graduated from the Advanced Human Rights and Humanitarian Law course at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute at the University of Lund.
Wilfred Nderitu Achievements
In 2020, he was awarded the rank of Senior Counsel by the President of Kenya, the highest professional grade for lawyers in the country.
International Tribunal Counsel – Wilfred is one of the few Kenyan advocates qualified to appear on the List of Counsel at multiple global courts, including the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Between 2012 and 2016, and as the Common Legal Representative for victims in the case against William Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang, he provided a voice for approximately 700 survivors of the 2007 and 2008 post-election violence.
He served as the Lead Defence Counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in the high-profile case of Simon Bikindi.
Nderitu was a member of the Task Force on Judicial Reforms, which successfully recommended the constitutional provisions that now safeguard judicial independence in Kenya.
Since 2017, he has served as the Vice-Chairperson of the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) Committee on Criminal Justice Reforms, leading the review of Kenya’s investigation and incarceration systems.
He is a former Chairperson of the Governing Council of the International Commission of Jurists in Kenya, which is a premier human rights body.
The senior counsel serves as the Board Chair of Crime Si Poa, an NGO dedicated to crime prevention and youth mentorship, and holds board positions at the Alliance Française de Nairobi and the Sarakasi Trust.
Since 2019, he has been a key member of the Committee on Active Case Management in Criminal Cases, helping to streamline the delivery of justice in Kenyan courts.
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