Kenya's Chief State Pathologist Dr Johanes Oduor has added a remarkable new credential to his already distinguished career, having been admitted to the bar as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.
Lawyer Wahome Thuku has offered what he believes is the most logical explanation for why the country's most prominent pathologist decided to pick up a law degree.
Thuku, who describes Oduor as his neighbour, was present to witness the admission and took to social media to mark the occasion with a combination of genuine admiration and his characteristic bluntness.
His reading of Oduor's motivation goes straight to the practical realities of the pathologist's work. As Chief State Pathologist, Oduor regularly appears in court as an expert witness, presenting forensic findings that can determine whether someone walks free or spends decades behind bars.
Thuku believes Oduor grew tired of being confined to the witness box and decided he wanted the ability to present cases himself from behind the bar, arguing directly before judges rather than simply answering the questions lawyers choose to ask him.
It is a theory that makes considerable professional sense. An expert witness, however brilliant, operates within the boundaries set by the advocates examining them. A lawyer controls the room.
Thuku used the occasion to deliver a broader point about the legal profession that he has clearly been wanting to say for some time.
He pushed back against the tendency of some people to treat being a lawyer as something elevated or intimidating, pointing out that doctors have been crossing into law regularly while the reverse is virtually unheard of.
Studying law, he said plainly, is one of the easiest things one can do. If it intimidates you, he told his followers, walk to a law school and get admitted. The bar, he implied, is lower than people think.
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