Chairperson: Department of Commercial Law

Abstract

The Department of Commercial Law is the largest Department at the University of Nairobi’s School of Law in terms of human resources. It has 28 lecturers, ten of whom are currently pursuing doctoral studies in Kenya and abroad, as well as one secretary and a number of support staff. The lecturers teach, research, supervise students, and engage in community service. A variety of them have served in government task forces, commissions, consultancies, and the judiciary. Prof. Onesmus Mutungi, for example, is a professor in the department and a retired High Court Judge. Also, Justice Stephen Kairu and Justice William Musyoka are serving as judges of the Court of Appeal and the High Court respectively. Additionally, Dr. Elizabeth Muli is a serving member of the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution. Others include: Prof Wambua Musili, who has served as a Commissioner of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission, Chairman of the Task Force on the Review of Maritime Laws, and Chairman of the Taskforce on Prisons and Human Rights; Ms Florence Simbiri-Jaoko, who is a former Chair of the Kenya National Commission of Human Rights (KNCHR); Ms Eunice Gichangi, who is the Senate’s Director of Legal Services and who served as a Programme Officer in the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC); and Ms Wanza Kioko, who was on the Committee of Eminent Persons on the Review of the Constitution.

Other academic members of staff are engaged in litigation, arbitration, conveyancing and other forms of legal practice, thereby giving students practical skills and opportunities for pupilage. They have initiated important links with a variety of organizations, including the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as well as several law schools in the US, Europe, and Africa. The Department works closely with these organizations to conduct cutting edge research, teaching and mentoring of students.

The current chair, Professor Kiarie Mwaura, was appointed in February 2011 and has worked with the College and the School to coordinate the process of curriculum review and streamline teaching, research, and supervision. He also serves as the Associate Dean in charge of Mombasa Campus. He is a former Director of the International Erasmus Programme (European Exchange Programme) at Queen’s University Belfast, where he also worked as a Lecturer in Law (2002-2009).

Mrs Jane Ogolla is the departmental secretary, who provides important interface between the office and stakeholders.