Veteran lawyer Pheroze Nowrojee dies aged 84 after illness
Veteran lawyer Pheroze Nowrojee is dead aged 84.
A statement said he died in the US on Saturday April 5.
Nowrjee was a stalwart of the legal and human rights movement in Kenya including serving as the National Convention Executive Council’s (NCEC) Convener spokesperson.
His colleagues said he was a gentle giant and a defender of democracy, justice, and liberation.
“At this sad moment we stand in solidarity with his loving wife Villoo, daughters Binaifer and Sia and son Elchi.”
He was till his death the Chair of the Asian African Heritage Trust which has played a very significant role in advancing Kenya’s position and progress in diplomacy, peace , friendship and education worldwide.
Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo mourned him as a teacher, mentor, human and constitutional rights lawyer, poet, writer, and unwavering defender of justice.
“Senior Counsel Nowrojee leaves behind a legacy etched in the soul of our nation and in the conscience of our legal profession. Of all the great men and women that we grew up hearing of, drawing inspiration from, and looking forward to work with, SC Nowrojee was the ultimate colossus of legal practice.”
“His life is the hallmark of what it means and takes to live a full life doing the right thing.
Senior Counsel Nowrojee’s contributions to the legal landscape of Kenya are incalculable,” she said.
She added throughout his distinguished career, he stood out as an unflinching pillar of resistance to authoritarianism and repression.
“Whether in the courtroom or through his writings, he embodied the spirit of the advocate as the guardian of rights. the conscience of the republic and the relentless defender of the oppressed.”
In August 2024, she added, at the Law Society of Kenya Annual Conference held in Diani, Kwale, SC Nowrojee delivered what would become his final public address to members of the bar.
In that keynote speech-one that received a thunderous standing ovation- he spoke with
his usual clarity, moral force, and poetic resonance about the role of the advocate in times of political upheaval.
He said good governance is best understood by studying how the advocate responds to bad governance-face of legitimacy especially that which wears the deceptive Invoking Nelson Mandela’s own words during apartheid.
“I regard it as a duty, which I owe not just to my people, but also to my profession, to the practice of law… and to justice for all mankind… I believe in taking up a stand against this injustice; I am upholding the dignity of what should be an honourable profession.”
He emphasised that the dignity of our profession lies not merely in the observance of legal forms but in standing resolutely against oppression, lawlessness, and the denial of the rule of law.
“Our conscience dictates that we must protest against it, that we must oppose it, and that we must attempt to alter it. Those are the places in our profession when faced with this type of governance. inspires us.”
Odhiambo said the late lawyer told them an advocate of the High Court of Kenya occupies a constitutional office equal in dignity to that of the Chief Justice or Attorney General-and that the advocate’s participation in the trial process is indispensable to the realisation of a fair trial.
“He called upon advocates to resist illegal directives, to speak truth to power, and to deploy even the smallest tools-letters, articles, statements—to defend the constitutional order.”
In his final literary contribution-Practicing an Honest Profession, launched at that very conference, SC Nowrojee laid bare the ethical core of our calling.
He spoke as he always did-with intellect, humility, and unshakeable integrity. In his words. “Justice keeps rulers legitimate.”
We take comfort in knowing that he died as he lived— practicing an honest profession.
As we mourn this colossal loss, we also celebrate a life lived in service to the law, to truth. to justice, and to Kenya. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, colleagues, and all whose lives he touched,” said Odhiambo.
“As a legal fraternity, we are not only broken by his death, but equally lost in the void his absence will leave within the profession. Though he gave us all that we could have asked of a personality of his stature, we will deeply miss his presence, exuberance. and candid affection.”