Justice Mohammed K. Ibrahim

Hon. Justice Mohammed Ibrahim, CBS, SCJ

Hon. Mr. Justice Mohammed Ibrahim was appointed a Judge of the inaugural Supreme Court of Kenya on 16^th June, 2011 after an open and competitive interview.

He is the Chairperson of the Judiciary Committee on Elections having been appointed on 16th August 2021 by the Chief Justice.

Justice Ibrahim was elected on 17^th May 2022 to represent the Supreme Court as a member of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

He studied law at the University of Nairobi before entering private practice. He joined the firm of Messrs Waruhiu & Muite Advocates in November 1982 and was subsequently admitted to the Roll of Advocates on 11^th January, 1983. He was the first from among the Kenyan Somali community to be admitted to the Bar as an Advocate. He progressed in the firm becoming a salaried partner in 1985 and a full partner in 1987. He went on to establish his own practice, Mohammed Ibrahim & Associates, in 1994. The firm subsequently expanded to become Ibrahim & Isaack Advocates in 1997. The firm litigated civil and constitutional cases, specialized in banking law, company law, bankruptcy, commercial law, property law, conveyancing and insurance law.

The Judge has invested heavily both personally and professionally in securing rights for minority groups, particularly the Somali community, in Kenya. He fought against the discrimination of Kenyan Somalis when the Government gazetted the use of “pink cards” which were secondary identity cards issued upon provision of further proof of verification of citizenship, and which was used to relegate the Somali community to second class citizens.

He has a strong commitment to social justice and while in private practice took on pro bono activities and community service, even in the face of great difficulties. As a result of his opposition to aspects of the one-party regime, he was detained without trial in July 1990 and spent one month in solitary confinement in Kamiti Prison for giving legal advice and supporting pro-democracy champions. He was an active member of the Law Society of Kenya and in 1994 he was elected to the Council for a term of one year. He has worked with Kituo Cha Sheria and was a member of the Board of the Legal Education and Aid Programme (LEAD). He was a founding trustee of the human rights organization, Mwangaza Trust, until 1994. He is a past member of Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and a current member of the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association.

He was appointed as a Judge of the High Court on 22^nd May, 2003 and first served at the Civil Division of the High Court, Milimani, Nairobi from June until July 2003, when he was transferred to the Commercial Division of the High Court at Milimani. In 2004, he was appointed to the newly established Judicial Review and Constitutional Division of the High Court, where he remained until he was transferred to the Eldoret High Court in January 2006. He was Resident Judge at Eldoret between 2007 and 2009 where he heard matters for the entire North Rift Valley, occasionally assisting the High Court in Kisii. In July 2009, he was transferred to the High Court at Mombasa, where he also served as Resident Judge until he was then elevated to the Supreme Court of Kenya.