Kevin Mwangi, a program officer at the independent medical-legal unit, is a human rights lawyer with over 5 years of global experience working and advancing human rights with expertise in law, democratic governance, and constitutionalism. He was recognised by the Nairobi Legal Awards program as the corporate lawyer of the year in 2020 and as the runner-up of the Young Lawyer of The Year category in previous years. He also sits as an expert member of the Working Group Migration and Torture in Africa.
Kevin joined the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), where law ‘found him’ and he fell in love with it. His journey as a Human rights lawyer started after studying Cooperate Commercial Law for a year. While holding over after his pupilage, he landed two internships, one with Barclay’s Bank, now Absa Bank, and Kelin Kenya, an NGO that deals with human rights. Torn between the two, he deliberated and consulted his close allies about who to work with. He realised that corporate law didn’t ignite a spark in him as Human rights did, and this led to his decision to work with the NGO over Barclays.
Besides law, Kevin works with torture and various human rights issues. He leads the Kenya ICCPR, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which lies with the UN rights besides law. He works for human rights collectively, and while he works with IMLU (Please confirm spelling) he works with sexual and reproductive health rights, access to maternal health care, and issues to do with refugees. Kevin highlights that human rights are intertwined; once you violate one, you violate many, yet many human rights workers opt to work in silos and handle one issue. On the other hand, Kevin prefers handling numerous issues collectively, thus creating more impact.
“To create change and impact, you need partnerships. One cannot be an expert in every field. You need to learn from other people’s experiences,” Kevin states. He says it is essential to partner with technical experts and people with the resources you need to meet your objectives.
Kevin’s law degree has enabled him to support human rights through litigation and advocacy both for African public and individual cases, as well as class actions and advocacy on policy change. He has provided technical and financial expertise to the African commissioners that draft guidelines on human rights. He has also guided them on the implementation of ICCPR in Kenya. Kevin’s law degree also comes in handy through advocacy, as seen when he was part of the team that litigated the post-election violence in 2007-2008 and 2017. He has also handled cases of torture and extra-judicial killings, among others.
Kevin was appointed to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights as an expert member handling issues concerning enforced disappearance, death penalty, and execution killings. He also sits in a working group for the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and is an advisor to the African Commission, an arm of the African Union.
To raise awareness of torture during transit, Kevin and his team took time to study torture and migration, as well as its advocacy around prevention, ensuring that survivors can get rehabilitation services and early detection.
Last year, Kevin was recognised as the LSK Nairobi cooperate lawyer. He was also the runner-up in 2018- 2019. This year, he was shortlisted in the top 35 under 35.
He does mentorships through internships and has partnered with Kenyatta University, where he mentors law students; hence, he strives to create impact as much as possible even though his work majors on the regional and international level.
Kevin says he is not good at navigating between work and rest. “The world does not fall apart because you took a weekend off,” a health specialist once told him. “So when it’s time to rest, you rest. Take the weekend and rest.”
With no mentor in human rights, he had a huge responsibility on his shoulders. Therefore, he had to make his own mistakes and learn from them. “People have perceptions of who you are. It takes double the effort to get heard, unlike other grow-ups.”. He doesn’t look like his CV at his age, so he is forced to prove he is the same person.
“You have to have a clear vision of what you want to see. A paycheck is good, but where is the fire in your belly- once you master that, the noise is irrelevant.
He is an adrenaline junkie and loves travelling, bungy jumping, jet skiing, and the movies for his leisure time. He also loves culture, people, and the country. Being asthmatic, his doctor encouraged him to take up swimming, and he instantly fell in love with it.
Kevin impacts himself in his service to the world and also brings change to others. He relies on God to do things beyond himself and it brings him joy. His passion is to serve justice, and he is on a path to learning more and leading effectively.
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