- Kenya's Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga is among 146 lawyers who applied for the Senior Counsel rank in 2026
- Special Prosecutor James Muruthi Kihara, whose career spans over three decades, is also among the applicants seeking the prestigious rank
- Former National Assembly Clerk Samuel Chepkong'a and former Senate Speaker Shadrack Mose are among other notable applicants
Kenya's Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga is among 146 lawyers who have applied for the rank of Senior Counsel in 2026, alongside other senior figures from the country's legal and public service sectors.
Source: Twitter
Special prosecutor James Muruthi Kihara and Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Jacinta Nyamosi are also on the list of applicants seeking the distinction, which is conferred by the president under Section 17 of the Advocates Act on advocates who have shown exemplary service to the legal profession and public service.
Who else applied for Senior Counsel rank?
Other notable applicants include former National Assembly Clerk Samuel K. Chepkong'a, former Senate Speaker Shadrack Mose, criminal lawyer Kiraithe Wandugi, James Gitau Sigh and former Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission director Judith Shamallah.
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Should his application succeed, Kihara would join a distinguished group that includes Philip Murgor, who served as Director of Public Prosecutions between 2003 and 2005.
Kihara was appointed special prosecutor in 2019 alongside Taib Ali Taib and Murgor, both of whom have since attained the Senior Counsel rank.
Kihara's legal career
Kihara brings more than three decades of experience in criminal prosecution, commercial litigation, arbitration and public service.
Among the high-profile cases he prosecuted were those involving former Nairobi governors Mike Sonko and Evans Kidero, as well as Onyango Oloo in the Lake Basin Mall case.
Beyond criminal matters, Kihara served for several years as counsel on record in the multibillion-shilling dispute involving the Kenya Pipeline Company and the Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline.
He was also the first chairman of the Public Private Partnerships Petitions Committee, a position later held by former Attorney General Githu Muigai.
His arbitration credentials are equally extensive. He is a former chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has served as a director of the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration, representing the Law Society of Kenya.
He was recognised in The Legal 500's Arbitration Powerlist Africa 2021 and has received the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW) award.
Kihara holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi, a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Pune in India and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Delhi University.
He has also undertaken specialised training at Harvard University in arbitration, governance and public-private partnerships.
How the Senior Counsel selection works
To qualify for consideration, applicants must have practised as advocates of the High Court for at least 15 years and must demonstrate professional competence, integrity, good character and meaningful contributions to the legal profession.
The Committee on Senior Counsel evaluates all applications before forwarding recommended names to the Chief Justice, who in turn submits them to the President for formal conferment.
All 146 applicants must complete this assessment process before any of them can be awarded the rank.
Source: TUKO.co.ke