Ten years ago, Joshua Odhiambo Nyamori led a successful one-week protest which saw the grabbed famous Taifa Park in Kisumu reverted to the public. Together with his peers, they mobilised residents to boycott products of companies alleged to have been behind grabbing of the park sitting on a one-acre parcel on Mosque Road.
This was after the investor brought down all the trees in the park and began to fence it off in preparation for construction of a shopping mall. Attempts to sue alleged grabbers failed after all lawyers declined to represent the protestes following claims that some influential politicians were behind the grabbing.
Even though the park was given back to the public, "We felt betrayed and wished we had a lawyer among us," Nyamori told The Nairobian in an interview.
And on July 3, 2020, the village boy was lined up among hundreds of advocates who were admitted to the bar by Chief Justice David Maraga.
When The Nairobian caught up with him at his own law firm, Joshua Odhiambo Nyamori Advocates offices located at Tumaini Mall in Kisumu's Nyalenda Estate, the 45-year-old was full of life, ready to take his street battles to the bar.
"I realised many of our street demonstrations ended without justice being served, because victims of the injustices do not get a chance to have their dignity restored," he said.
Born and raised in Kisumu, Nyamori, a third born in a family of five, went through Arya Primary School and Kisumu Boys High School before joining Maseno University where he graduated with a degree in Education Arts (Economic and Business Studied) in the 2000.
He did not, take up a teaching job, and was consumed in activism which saw him join camps that mobilised the public to demonstrate against social and political injustices.
"My vision was to study law, and when I missed admission, I decided not to join the university, as there were no parallel programs at the time," he said, adding that his father convinced him to undertake the education course, and later pursue his dreams as they could not raise fees for studies outside the country.
The former Maseno University student leader would then join the family business, following in the footsteps of his father a lawyer.
When his street protests failed to yield fruits in 2013, Nyamori registered for a Law degree course at the University of Nairobi. Four years later, he joined Kenya School of Law, where he completed early this year and was admitted to the bar. Nyamori, now a learned friend says his firat mission is to revisit land grabbing cases which had previously flopped.
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