Mutunga has been a pillar for reforms

Saturday, 14 May 2011 00:09 BY NZAU MUSAU

A pioneer civil society activist, Willy Mutunga was born in Kitui in 1947, educated at University of Nairobi and went on to study at University of Dar Es Salaam where the country’s top legal brains were trained.
He later did his doctorate at York University (Osgoode Hall Law School) in Toronto, Canada and went on to work in both academia and human rights organization world since the 70’s.
His work in pro-democracy movement, university staff trade unions and more specifically his alleged association with “twelfth of December Movement” led to his arrest and imprisonment in 1982 during the crackdown for anti-Nyayo elements.
Between 1993 and 1995, Dr. Mutunga chaired the Law Society of Kenya and later on served as executive director of Kenya Human Rights Commission, convener of National Convention Executive Council and co-chair of Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change.
In 2003, Mutunga the characteristic rebel rejected an appointment by President Mwai Kibaki into the governing council of Jommo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology saying he did not merit it as he was not consulted anyway.
Before his nomination, Mutunga was the East Africa’s regional representative of the Ford Foundation with specific focus on social justice grant making and recently protecting women rights. He is a board member of the Human Rights Center at the Law School of the State University of New York at Buffalo.