She was too young to remember her parents’ faces, but old enough to feel the pain of growing up without them.
For Daphin Biyaki, childhood was shaped by loss, uncertainty and the difficult reality of navigating life without the two people who should have been her first source of love, protection and guidance.
Yet, decades later, the little girl who lost her parents would emerge as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, overcoming a series of personal and academic setbacks to find her place in the corridors of justice.
Her journey, however, began with an entirely different ambition.
In August 2011, Biyaki reported to Gusii Stadium with hopes of joining the military. She had imagined herself in military fatigues, undergoing drills and eventually serving in the disciplined ranks of the armed forces.
But her dream was cut short after a recruitment officer assessed her academic qualifications and ruled her out.
At the time, the rejection felt devastating. In retrospect, however, Biyaki sees it as an unexpected turning point that redirected her towards a profession she had never considered.
“It was a painful disappointment at the time, but looking back, I realise it was the turning point that redirected my life towards a profession I had never imagined pursuing. What seemed like a closed door eventually opened the way to an entirely different calling,” she recalls.
That closed door would eventually lead her to the legal profession, although the journey was far from straightforward.
The uncle who became a father
Behind Biyaki’s determination to succeed lies a deeply personal story of childhood bereavement and family sacrifice.
She lost both parents at a tender age, leaving her and her two siblings in the care of their maternal uncle, Wycliffe Ombaki Bonuke.
For Biyaki, Bonuke was much more than a guardian. He assumed the responsibilities of a father, providing the emotional support, stability and educational opportunities that could easily have become elusive following the death of her parents.
“He became more than my guardian; he became the father figure I had lost, the hand that held me when life turned cruel, and the guiding light that ensured the death of my parents would never become the death of my dreams,” she says.
Her appreciation for his sacrifices is unmistakable.
“In fact, I forward all my credits to him. He was so selfless and brought us up well. Sometimes I think possibly even my parents couldn’t give me similar treatment had they been alive,” she says.
It is a remarkable tribute to a man who stepped into a difficult parental role and invested in the future of three children whose lives had been abruptly changed by tragedy.
Biyaki began her primary education at Kalabar Primary School in Homa Bay before transferring to Kabosi in Kisii following the death of her parents.
Despite the family’s difficult circumstances, her uncle remained determined to give the children a solid educational foundation.
He understood that education could provide opportunities that their circumstances might otherwise deny them and was unwilling to allow the tragedy of their childhood to define their future.
Even today, Biyaki admits that the pain of losing her parents has never entirely disappeared.
“Losing parents isn’t easy. You don’t outgrow it. It is normal to think about them, but still my uncle has been wonderful to us,” she says.
Her experience captures the complicated reality of childhood bereavement: growing older does not necessarily mean outgrowing the pain, but love, support and opportunity can help one find the strength to move forward.
A childhood inclination towards justice
Interestingly, the foundations of Biyaki’s eventual legal career may have been laid long before she considered studying law.
As a child, she occasionally found herself playing the role of a mediator in disputes involving other children.
One of her uncles would sometimes call upon her to settle disagreements, and the decisions she made were apparently accepted by those involved.
“He often called me to determine small conflicts, and whatever verdict I gave settled the matter. Little did I know this could play some part in my choosing a career,” she recalls.
Those childhood experiences may have helped nurture an interest in fairness, resolving disagreements and listening to competing sides — qualities that would later become central to her professional life.
But discovering her calling was only one part of the journey. Getting there would prove considerably more difficult.
The darkest moment in her academic journey
One of the most difficult periods came after she enrolled for a law degree at Kisii University.
Her ambition was thrown into uncertainty when the government declared that the institution was not properly licensed to offer the law programme.
The development interrupted her studies and left her unsure whether she would ever realise her dream of becoming a lawyer.
“For one year, we were out of the course. It was a very difficult moment because I did not know what would become of my dream of becoming a lawyer,” she recalls.
Once again, her uncle became a source of encouragement.
He advised her to consider pursuing a business course at the same university rather than remaining idle as she waited for the uncertainty surrounding the law programme to be resolved.
Biyaki took his advice and attended business classes for two semesters.
But the alternative did not satisfy her ambitions.
Despite making an effort to embrace the new course, she realised that her heart remained firmly set on law.
The experience became another defining moment in her life, reinforcing her determination to pursue the profession she had come to see as her calling.
The licensing controversy, however, was not the only institutional challenge she encountered.
A confrontation that threatened her academic progress
While studying law, Biyaki also found herself embroiled in a dispute with a tutor after she challenged what she considered the unfair treatment of another student.
She alleges that the tutor became angry after being gently corrected over an error made during a lesson and subsequently physically assaulted one of the students.
Biyaki says she objected to the incident, arguing that students should not be subjected to harassment simply because they questioned or corrected a lecturer.
“Nobody is perfect, and everybody makes mistakes. But when the tutor was gently corrected, he became angry and physically assaulted one of the students. I felt that was wrong. When I raised an objection to the harassment of the student, he took it personally,” she says.
She alleges that the tutor subsequently withheld her examination marks, threatening to derail her academic progress and prolong a journey that had already been interrupted by institutional challenges.
Determined not to allow the dispute to destroy years of hard work, she sought the intervention of the university’s Vice-Chancellor.
The intervention eventually resolved the matter, allowing her to continue with her studies.
“I had to seek intervention because I could not allow the situation to destroy the years I had invested in my education. Fortunately, the intervention worked, and I was able to proceed with my studies,” she says.
For Biyaki, it was another reminder that the road to achieving her ambitions would require patience, courage and the willingness to stand up for what she believed was right.
Having overcome childhood loss, an interrupted law programme and an academic dispute, she pressed on.
She eventually completed her law degree and proceeded to the Kenya School of Law, bringing her closer to the professional milestone she had pursued against considerable odds.
From military dreams to the Bar
In 2020, Biyaki finally achieved what had once seemed like a distant ambition when she was admitted to the Bar as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.
She also became a mediator, adding another dimension to her involvement in dispute resolution.
It was a remarkable transformation from the young woman who had reported to Gusii Stadium in August 2011 hoping to join the military.
The military fatigues she had once imagined wearing were replaced by the black robes of an advocate.
Instead of military drills and deployment, her professional life would revolve around legal arguments, dispute resolution and the pursuit of justice.
Her childhood experience of settling disagreements among other children had, in a way, come full circle.
Today, she has turned that early inclination towards resolving conflicts into a professional career.
A journey bigger than the Bar
For Biyaki, becoming an advocate is more than an academic or professional achievement.
It represents a personal victory over circumstances that could easily have dictated the course of her life.
She has had to confront the pain of losing both parents, depend on the generosity of a relative who assumed parental responsibilities, endure interruptions to her education and navigate difficult institutional encounters.
Through it all, the unwavering support of her uncle remained a constant.
His decision to invest in her education and provide the guidance she needed became one of the most important foundations of her success.
Her story also highlights the profound difference that family support and access to education can make in the life of a child facing adversity.
The little girl who once struggled with the absence of her parents has grown into a professional who has found her place in a demanding field.
And while she may never have fulfilled her childhood dream of joining the military, she has found another way to serve — through the law.
Today, the former orphan from Kisii stands as an advocate, carrying with her the memories of her parents, the sacrifices of the uncle who raised her and the lessons learned along a difficult journey.
Her story is not merely about becoming a lawyer.
It is about a young woman who refused to allow the loss of her parents, institutional setbacks or disappointment to determine the limits of her future.
Sometimes, the road to one’s destination is not the one initially imagined. For Daphin Biyaki, a rejection at a military recruitment ground became the beginning of a journey that eventually led her to the Bar.
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