Senior Counsel Pheroze Nowrojee, who passed away on Saturday, April 5, 2024, at the age of 84, was one of the most eminent figures in Kenya’s legal and human rights landscape. He was a man of intellectual vigour and unwavering principle.
The pursuit of justice was his lifelong mission — for the downtrodden, the oppressed, and for constitutional rights. His unrelenting quest for justice became synonymous with his name.
Pheroze was born into a family deeply engaged in the struggles of East Africa, but his own upbringing was primarily influenced by his father’s bold stand against injustice. This spirit led Eruch Nowrojee to write to the King, demanding intervention when the family returned to Kenya after Pheroze’s grandfather was laid off by Uganda Railways.
Instinctively, this drive for resistance was instilled in Pheroze from an early age, and working for justice became the hallmark of his life’s journey.
In his memoir entitled A Kenyan Journey, Pheroze makes these reflections about his father: “Like his father before him, my father had little liking for tyrants—grand or petty—or for injustice. And like his father, Eruch was tied to the country.”
He graduated from Delhi University and the London School of Economics, gaining his intellectual and legal grounding, inspired by figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
His academic journey had taken him to Yale University, but in Kenya would lie his destiny. With admission to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn, he returned to Kenya, where he quickly established himself not just as a lawyer but as a protector of the downtrodden.
Pheroze became a lawyer for the oppressed, particularly during the 1980s under President Daniel arap Moi’s brutal regime. He became a vocal critic of dictatorship, advocating for political dissidents like Koigi Wamwere and, later, Raila Odinga, by challenging sedition laws and the injustices of the regime.
Pheroze once said of Jomo Kenyatta’s government: “He [Kenyatta] chose to let his government move resources from the poor to the rich, public land and trust land, donor money, parastatal money, always disregarding the fact that land and money were the land and money of the people.”
Known simply as Pheroze, he was part of a group of radical lawyers who believed in confronting one-party rule in Kenya and expanding civil liberties. His legendary court battles challenged civil assembly rights and detention without trial.
His bravery and determination gained him the respect of peers. Martha Karua, who worked with him on a case of great political significance, recalled, “I remember Pheroze finding us outside the court and coming in to help and lead us. He rescued us. He led us in a gallant manner.”
His fame also extended to the remarkable presidential election petition of 2017, which, ironically, was the same event through which Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory was annulled for the first time in the annals of African history. Thus, he spoke coherently and rationally while standing firm against the decisions of the war cabinet and was in the frontline of the struggle for democracy in Kenya.
Pheroze leaves behind a vast body of legal scholarship and a profound tradition of courage in the face of oppression, inspiring future generations to fight for justice, no matter the cost.
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