Koki Muli: Defending democracy

Driving into Dr Koki Muli’s Nairobi home, you are greeted by a spectacular panoramic view of her beautifully manicured garden, accentuated by various species of trees.

The trees have names. One is named Barrack Obama, another Wangari Mathai and another Mwai Kibaki. She has planted them at key moments in history, around the lives of the celebrities she holds dear. Others tell of the seasons and the love of family. 

For a woman whose legacy on human rights, governance and diplomacy is intertwined, it is easy to conclude that this humble abode is a reflection and summation of some of the memorable times she has experienced in her illustrious legal career. It speaks volumes about her personality. She loves to live life quietly and serenely, with the sound of chirping away from the daily excesses as a human rights activist, and as a lecturer and Dean of Law, pursuing her latest found love - teaching.

“I mostly spend my free time at home. I love a peaceful place with the birds tweeting around you. When I come back from work at South Eastern Kenya University as the Dean of the School of Law, I prefer a quiet environment. I have to find some serenity after a long day of interacting with people and marking Cats scripts. I always find solace at my house because it is quiet and peaceful,” says Koki as she leads us to her living room.

“I have spent a lot of time in civil society, and I will be turning 58 next year. I love teaching and God has been good to me throughout. I would spend my life teaching because I like sharing my experiences. Talking and teaching people new things every day is my passion. There are some things that I have learnt in life and I believe that I have a lot of knowledge to share. I was working with human rights, democracy, good governance, leadership and integrity and now at South Eastern Kenya University, we are the only ones in the country who have a unit on Electoral Law. This is to improve democracy, elections, governance and accountability,” Koki, who is also an advocate of the High Court of Kenya says.

Koki has seen it all. She has been at the forefront of the struggle for democratic change. Her friends sit at the top of all three branches of government. President William Ruto is her agemate. They graduated from the University of Nairobi on the same day. Only recently did she return to the country after serving as an ambassador - Deputy Permanent Representative at the Kenyan Mission to the United Nations in New York. Her name was at the top of the list of candidates for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). The more she tries to live a private life, the more the public demands her service.

After graduating from the Kenya School of Law in 1990. Koki focused on human rights issues and for a long time was an activist on democracy and governance issues. In 1991, she was one of the people involved in the repeal of Section 2A, which saw the return of multi-party elections, an amendment that introduced the two-term limit for the presidency. This was at a time when the country was clamouring for a new constitution.

In 1992, she joined the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) - which established the first election observation unit in Kenya - where she worked until 1995, when she went to the UK to do her Masters at the University of London, before moving to Oxford University for her PhD. She completed her PhD at the University of Dar es Salaam. Her PhD is on elections and electoral law and it was more appropriate for her to do it at the University of Dar es Salaam or the University of Nairobi because it was more appropriate there, she says.

 “The Institute for Education in Democracy (IED) came in as an offshoot of what had been started by ICJ. A lot of civic and voter education was required as well as a lot of democracy work. As a consequence, IED was established in 1993. Between 1993 and 1997, there were a lot of by-elections hence the need for voter and civic education.

“At Oxford University I was doing my PhD on Refugee Law. When I came to observe the elections in 1997, I discovered that even if the Refugee Law was important to the country it wasn’t urgent. There were issues to do with elections, governance, corruption and democracy that had to do with constitution-making in Kenya. I thought that would be of priority. At Oxford University, I couldn’t find someone quickly to supervise me on this so moved to Dar es Salaam. At the time I was the only person who had a PhD in Elections in the entire region. I think I am still one of the few,” she says.

She led IED in increasing youth participation in elections, both as voters and elected leaders. Through a popular campaign called Vijana Tugutuke, the IED unit mobilised a countrywide campaign led by influential youth in music and arts. Working closely with the Electoral Commission of Kenya and the Registrar General’s Office, the campaign was a huge success, registering more than seven million new voters. The 1997 elections had the highest voter turnout and for the first time in Kenya’s history, the number of registered voters exceeded 14 million, up from an average of nine million.

“It was the first time the voter turnout was so high and the first time so many young people were voted into elective civic positions. The concept of youth and youth participation and representation started gaining traction in Kenyan elections. After the shock of the 1997 elections, people learned that leadership was never about tribes but issues. All this time I was working for IED. After this, I wrote the report and left IED around April 1998 as I had agreed with them. I went and established my own NGO but before long I was invited by the Governance section of the UNDP to go to Sudan to help them do civic education for them.

“South Sudan was then part of the bigger Sudan and was expecting to do elections in 2010. I was then approached by the UN and asked to be one of the members of the panel that was appointed by the Secretary-General to oversee the self-determination of South Sudan and Abyei. I was in charge of out-of-country voting for South Sudan and after the elections, I came back to Kenya and joined South Eastern Kenya University to give back to my people. Then came President Kibaki’s call for me to head to New York to take the ambassadorial duties in 2012, a tenure that saw me make New York a glorious home till 2020 when I came back home – again to the teaching job,” says Koki who is currently the Dean of the School of the Law at South Eastern Kenya University.

Despite her busy public life, Koki is a modest family woman, a wife and a mother. She is a charming storyteller and a devout Christian who, in addition to instilling Christian morals in her two daughters, emphasises the importance of passing on culture and good morals. She is an avid reader and a farmer, relying on her farm for almost all of her family’s food.

She has a way with words. From humorous retellings of folk tales, she learnt growing up in her native Kitui to hilarious revelations about how she met her French husband Grignon, who is two years her junior, there is never a dull moment with this inspiring icon who believes there is always a good reward for anyone who works hard.

“We have two daughters and both of them are in the United Kingdom. My lastborn is pursuing Law (LLB) like me at the University of Redding while my firstborn just finished her Masters in International Journalism at Cardiff University. She is currently doing journalism-related work in London. I am so proud of her since she has come a long way in her career. She started as an intern at the Standard Media Group and no one knew we were related,” Koki says.

“We are a family that loves travelling. We embrace life with an international outlook. Am a staunch Catholic, so I raised my daughters in a church background. We must respect the Constitution and have integrity. One of the best foundations for my children is introducing them to the church. One of my daughters served in the church and they both learned good principles there. I was born as a village girl in a poor background. We were a total of eight children and we were brought up by the village. We were raised by the whole community and discipline and principals were instilled in us. I have worked hard to get to where I am today. I was happy to see my daughter standing up for an old lady since we have raised them to be caring and kind,” she says.