January 21st is World Thank Your Mentor Day, a day set apart to appreciate and celebrate those who have guided and created a lasting positive impact on the lives/careers of those who came after them. Fun fact about The LawDown Africa: This platform is a vision realized through the encouragement and support of a Senior Counsel who believed in a junior lawyer who dared to dream big. Consequently, as a platform, we are keen on mentorship, the relationships it nurtures, and the opportunities it creates.
Today, we feature our founder, Dissi Obanda, an Advocate of the High Court with over ten years of post-qualification experience. In her decade as an advocate, Dissi has passed through the hands of several mentors. However, there aren’t enough words, space, or time to thank all of them. So, today, she shares with us her experience as a mentee under two distinguished mentors. Moreover, she shares her experience as a mentor, paying it forward to the next generation of lawyers.
My Career Journey as a Mentee
“I’m very privileged to have had fantastic mentors who have mentored me in different ways. I define the mentors in my life as the people who saw me, my talents, and my mind and were willing to spend the time and, in various cases, money to nurture the unique gifts they saw in me. Sometimes, it was as simple as buying me a cup of tea and listening to what I had to say.”
As highlighted above, Dissi shares her experience as a mentee under the tutelage of two lawyers (Senior counsel) who were complete gentlemen and outstanding members of the profession. First is Senior Counsel Kenneth W. Akide, the 45th President of the LSK.
Dissi interned at Kenneth Akide, SC’s law firm, as an undergraduate student just before Mr. Akide became the LSK Chair. He then retained her as his Personal Assistant at his new designation at the LSK.
“Mr. Kenneth W. Akide, SC, really hand-held me when I was in campus. He gave me the space/ leeway to really get in and understand the legal space from the LSK’s perspective. Although I didn’t sit at the LSK, having that front-row seat as his PA allowed me to see how the legal profession works, what an LSK Chairperson does, what kind of matters they dealt with, what sort of things ended up on their table.”
“One thing I’m so grateful for to date is how trusting Kenneth W. Akide was of me. He allowed me to accompany him to high-level meetings; sometimes, I’d attend such meetings, like at the Attorney General’s office, sit there, and take notes on his behalf.” According to Dissi, such an experience does wonders for a young lawyer’s confidence.
Wholesome Learning
Besides the technical aspects, Mr. Akide allowed Dissi to work on his speeches and correspondence. “This really built me practically in terms of corporate communications. As lawyers, we’re supposed to have a good command of the English language, and that’s where it comes in because you must craft that email or that correspondence to say what it needs to say professionally. Corporate communication was a crucial practical lesson I learned under his mentorship.”
Still, on corporate communication, Dissi also learned telephone etiquette while under Kenneth W. Akide. “I’d be on the telephone with high-profile individuals like the AG and the heads of national commissions Sometimes, these telephone conversations entailed relaying that he was not in the country and would receive the message. I needed to be able to properly relay the what, where, and how of the message and to gauge its importance so I could add it to his priority list. He saw that I had the aptitude for it, but most importantly, he gave me the space to explore this aptitude.”
As highlighted earlier, mentorship may sometimes be as simple as a senior breaking bread with their juniors. Dissi recalls how Kenneth W. Akide would treat her to lunch and explain the workings of the legal profession over the meal.
Kenneth W. Akide also inspired Dissi to speak her mind. “One instance I’m very proud of is in 2011 when Senior Council Akide was out of the country, and the LSK Council met at his boardroom. The LSK annual conference was coming up in a few months, and I sat in the meeting to take notes on his behalf.” The society wanted to invite an international speaker, an Indian judge, to the conference, but he was unavailable at the last minute, and the conference’s date was fast approaching.
“The LSK Council was somewhat stranded on which other international speakers to approach within such short notice. Moreover, they needed a guest who would fit the event’s theme for that year which revolved around constitutionalism. Because I worked with a mentor who thought I had something to say, I had the confidence to propose Justice Albie Sachs, a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. They listened, pursued the idea, got him on board, and he came to the conference as the chief guest. I was extremely proud that my proposal had been taken and that I rightly read the moment and proposed a name that made sense.”
Outside of the strictly professional space, Kenneth W. Akide also empowered Dissi to express herself as a creative. Dissi recalls a memorable event whereby Senior Counsel Akide accorded her a unique opportunity to perform a poem at a professional forum.
LSK held a cocktail event welcoming the CJ Willy Mutunga, DCJ Nancy Barasa, and Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko Although it was a high-profile event, Kenneth W. Akide assigned me a slot in the evening’s program to perform a poem. The poem titled ‘Wanjiku’ was a bit of an activist piece, and I was jittery about performing it at first, but it was so well received at the end of the day.”
“It was a surreal evening. For a law student, having that spotlight and the rare opportunity to hobnob with senior lawyers like Professor Githu Muigai, former AG Amos Wako, and Dr. Willy Mutunga are things you can only dream about. The closest I had gotten to such distinguished persons before was their signatures on formal documents.”
After the event, Dissi inscribed the poem she had recited on a plaque and gifted it to CJ Willy Mutunga. For his tenure as CJ, the plaque inscribed with her poem sat on a wall in his office. Moreover, after he retired, he took the plaque home, and it still sits in his library, a factor for which she remains grateful. I was very proud to see the plaque hanging on his wall, just above the statue of Wanjiku on the day that I was admitted to the Bar.
Besides Kenneth Akide, SC, Beauttah Siganga, SC has also been an amazing mentor in Dissi’s legal career. “He is so open to new ideas and new ways of thinking and shows genuine care. Our mentorship structure includes meeting up over tea or a meal every three months or so. I talk and talk while he listens and is so enthusiastic and interested in what I have to say.”
Dissi hails Mr. Siganga’s mentorship role in her career as that of a champion. “He has spent his time and money and even made phone calls on my behalf, saying, “I know this young lady, I believe in what she’s doing; please give her some time, and can I please give her your contacts.” as the Fair Chair at the first Kenya Law Career Fair by The Lawdown Africa. “One, he was sold to the idea, and second, he was willing to take his time and use his position and influence to champion the fair. With his support, we got key partners onboard, including The judiciary and the State Law office. I don’t think I’ll ever find the words to accurately express what it meant for a senior to hear me out, share my vision and actively help me to bring it to life. On the day of the event he was at the venue before 8am and left at 7pm. He opened and closed our event and also ran a masterclass on Ethics and the Modern Lawyer; his presentation was ready three weeks before the event, showing his dedication to building the next generation of lawyers of good standing.
Another factor to consider about mentorship is reverse mentorship, whereby a mentor also learns from the mentee.“Mr. Siganga often says to me, “You know, I sit down and listen to you because I learn so much myself, and I’m very encouraged by your bravery and thinking. I have a place to exchange ideas and thinkabout how I can adapt some of my own ideas and thoughts.”
My Experience as a Mentee
Besides being Dissi’s mentor, Mr. Siganga encourages her to pay it forward. “One of the things I’m most proud of is being able to pay it forward, and one of the ways I do so is via the Kenya Law Career Fair (KLCF) – the first KCLF event was held in 2024.”
According to Dissi, KLCF was an opportunity to recreate her experiences with her mentors and attempt to create a platform that multiplies that experience to have many more people mentored simultaneously. “That is what drives me; that’s what I’m particularly keen on and working toward. The Kenya Law Career Fair entails talking about the journey and diversity of legal practice and imparting wisdom and knowledge on particular areas of the law. I’m proudest that I could use my personal networks to create platforms for mentorship.”
Based on her experience as a mentor and mentee, Dissi concludes that mentorship is a personal responsibility. “If more lawyers said, “How can I pay it forward?” The legal profession would be so much richer.”
Dissi expounds that one prime reason behind the disconnect between mentors and mentees is the lack of a structure. “That’s what we, as The Lawdown Africa, are trying to create. Of course, it’s not exclusive to us, but with the KLCF, we’re trying to be that conduit that facilitates the passage of knowledge.” Essentially, mentorship is the passage of wisdom and knowledge, networking, and spending time with people you might not have access to regularly. That’s the gap that we’re trying to fill.
“I’m also proud that in my time as an advocate, I can count 4-5 young ladies, brilliant young lawyers, that I’ve personally walked with. Moreover, one of my mentees is a marketer by profession, but she was very keen on the legal space because her family members are lawyers. So, she was keen to see how marketing works in the legal space.
I’m very proud to have worked with them, some while in campus, others just after campus, looking to get into the Kenya School of Law (KSL), and others post-KSL. It has been my joy to walk with them and show them as best as I can the diversity of the legal profession and how they can be themselves, with their own giftings, without limitation.
A Call to Embrace Mentorship
“On World Mentorship Day, my call is for us to be the change we want to see; the light that guides those who come after us, even when we feel like we did not have much guidance ourselves.
I’m doing what I can on a personal level to ensure that those coming after me don’t have to have it as hard as I did. I’m using my resources (my capacity to think, create, and my experience in marketing communication, law, and entrepreneurship) to create these sorts of platforms. So, it’s a personal responsibility for every lawyer and every other professional to create what they would like to have seen or what they would like to have happened to them.” Essentially, a lighthouse.
So, on this Thank Your Mentor Day, we encourage you to appreciate the mentors who have been there for a season, for a reason, or for life. May we rise to the call to pay it forward and positively shape the experiences of the next generation of legal professionals.
