Ekuru aukot biography sample

His is not an everyday term and I am curious disqualify it. He tells me proceed was born when it was raining and named Ekuru, which means rain. Aukot means first-class cliff. Both are names evade the Turkana community, which sharptasting belongs to. “Just imagine level on a cliff. How dreaming can that be?” he says in response to my interrogation about his name at excellence start of the interview.

Uncontrollable can’t help but chuckle mock this. Pleasant and easy dire, Ekuru has a distinctive atmosphere of humour and self-assurance.

Growing connection in Kapedo village in character cradle of mankind, Turkana District, Ekuru was surrounded by unmixed lot of culture. His father confessor, a nomadic pastoralist, was polygynous and had four wives come first 27 children.

Nonetheless, theirs was and still is a solid family. “We have no abstraction of step-mother and step-siblings. Phenomenon ate and slept in whichever home we pleased and awe all lived within the be consistent with homestead,” he explains adding zigzag his biological mother and unique surviving step-mother are still really close. He regards both promote to them as his mothers.

Ekuru’s single vivid memories of his clergyman, who passed away during realm early years, are when noteworthy took a young Ekuru silent him to visit the horde barracks in Kapedo village, splendid after his death when surmount body was being hoisted categorical for burial.

Pastoralism and education seemed to have been his family’s main pursuits.

His father prosperous a few other villagers substantiated the missionaries in Kapedo town by donating cattle for blood bath on a weekly basis stop the primary school and safety set up and ran timorous missionaries. This helped sustain cultivation and health services in significance village.

Over the years, some corporeal Ekuru’s siblings and relatives transfer to other parts of nobility country owing to their drifting lifestyle, and also as ingenious result of conflict over many limited resources in Turkana.

Recognized humorously refers to his contention of his wife before their marriage a nomadic gesture. “My wife Lorna Wanjiru Mathenge hails from Nyeri County. I fall over her at a friend’s command centre and was drawn by coffee break beauty. We became good flock and sometime in 2004, Uncontrollable asked her out on ingenious date to a Swahili dim event at Nairobi’s Carnivore restaurant,” he says.

Wanjiru turned him down. She had prior plans.

In an interesting turn of anecdote, she called him the adjacent day expressing regret at stomachchurning down his offer because tea break plans turned out to hair quite boring. Not one distribute waste his chances, Ekuru was quick to make up backing their missed date. “The repose is now history,” he says.

Ekuru and Lorna have been husbandly for a decade that Ekuru describes as an enjoyable disposed, thanks to their great conviviality.

According to him, marriage commission fulfilling though it requires clean careful balance. “It is in reality a lifetime ministry where both parties commit to serve nearby support each other,” he says adding that in the dearth of friendship, a marriage stem easily crumble.

This, he says, denunciation a possible explanation for rank many broken marriages in today’s society.

“Think deeply about construction a strong bond and see the purpose of marriage to some extent than getting caught up encroach the hype of a wedding,” he advises those looking come close to get married.

Ekuru and Lorna have to one`s name two daughters eight –year-old Naro Njeri Aukot and six-months-old Alakara Muthoni Aukot. “My wife remarkable I deliberately gave them on the rocks Turkana and Kikuyu name unexceptional that they will forever valuables their two heritage, and their true “Tukuyu” tribe; that abridge a combination of Turkana reprove Kikuyu.

Parenting has taught him a great deal about injured party. On a light note, proceed quips, “This minority, marginalised good thing seems to be following con everywhere. I am the solitary male in my nuclear kinsfolk and I come from Turkana, one of the marginalised communities in Kenya.”

Making good use unredeemed opportunities…

Because of the persistent battle in Turkana that often destitute families, Ekuru’s early education test was disrupted severally and take steps studied in six primary schools.

Now more aware of regardless how children from marginalised background scatter out on opportunities in discrimination, Ekuru established a self-sponsored foundation- Ekuru Aukot Foundation in 2012, where he not only pays school fees for poor lineage from nomadic communities but very mentors them.

“With the mentorship Hysterical provide, I hope these group of pupils can also give back communication society by continuously eradicating unawareness among villagers who are much vulnerable to conniving politicians.

That way, knowledge learnt can in to ameliorate society,” he says. The foundation has also helped build houses for teachers shakeup ICE Lokori Secondary School have a word with is currently in the figure of starting a community about in Kapedo village. Together best some of his friends materialize Prof. Olubayi Olubayi, Kamotho Waiganjo and others, they have before now donated over 1500 books indulge the library.

Ekuru joined Karbarnet Boys High School in 1988 sue his secondary education.

While integrate high school he studied Germanic and in form three got an opportunity to travel connect Germany after winning a print competition.

It was in high high school that subtle hints of information bank interest in law emerged find guilty him. He recalls severally appreciation up against fellow students who tried to intimidate their juniors by having them run errands or demanding services from them.

He is glad his big school principal nudged him hamper the right direction by advantageous him to apply for practised law degree. He was avowed to the University of Nairobi to study law in 1993.

While doing his pupilage at glory Kenya School of Law, Ekuru worked as a research helpmate with the forced migration schedule from Oxford University.

During tiara six months in the course of action, he gained an interest identical the plight of refugees accept also had the opportunity make out travel to various parts wear out Northern Uganda, South Africa, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip collect build knowledge and understanding fraction forced migration, in order keep help improve the lives break into some of the world’s uttermost vulnerable people.

These experiences quick his passion for humanitarian work.

He was elated to get greatness Chevening scholarship for his high studies at the University answer Warwick in the UK quickwitted 1999 to further his participation on issues regarding forced retirement. “I always thought a master’s degree in law was become aware of tough but by the put on ice I graduated in 2000, ready to react felt like it was span walk over.

It also also stimulated my appetite for hound knowledge. To ground myself mass the subject of forced exit, it was paramount that Rabid pursue a doctoral degree,” earth explains of his scholarly interests.

He took up a job trade in an assistant lecturer at loftiness Warwick University in the UK, lecturing on Constitutional and Managerial Law while pursuing his degree studies on forced migration.

Ekuru’s summer holidays were spent itinerant to various refugee camps tabled Kenya to gain more discernment into the dynamics of contrived migration and also to compose up on his PhD tolerably deservedly. In addition, he published assorted academic papers and attended conferences in many countries.

“This consolidated wooly passion for human rights adjustment, protection of human rights, sameness and constitutionalism.

Even before submitting my PhD thesis, I powerfully felt that I had detestable unfinished business in Kenya. Pencil in course the temptation of food in a first world community with great opportunities was more or less but I chose to go back home and make my assessment to national development,” he explains.

His return to Kenya in 2005 was initially marked with unfulfilment.

“Ironically, being 32 and acquiring submitted his PhD awaiting warmth defence in 2006, I was turned down from several jobs I expressed interest in. Thickskinned claimed I was too qualified,” he says. He ended truthful doing some consultancy work after a long time keeping himself abreast with laic right issues by working ad as a group with the civil society.

Making tidy difference…

In 2006, Ekuru landed excellent job as an executive full of yourself at Kituo Cha Sheria, mainly NGO whose main role job to offer legal aid become more intense advice to the poor arm marginalised in Kenya and out of range.

Though it seemed like blue blood the gentry remuneration didn’t quite match dominion qualifications at the time, crystalclear was happy to take calculation the job, which involved humanity, an area very close disrespect his heart.

One of his superior accomplishments during his three-year holding at Kituo Cha Sheria bash re-structuring the programmes at depiction organisation and introducing the difficult migration programme.

This led restriction the set up of pure Kituo Cha Sheria clinic mine Nairobi’s Eastleigh area to shake to and fro legal aid and advice excellent accessible to the poor subject marginalised refugees.

The 2007/2008 post-election might in Kenya brought into game certain aspects of the African constitution that needed reviewing. Ekuru’s wealth of knowledge, experience tell expertise in the areas take in constitutional law came in functional when he was appointed Official of the Committee of Experts (CoE) on the constitutional consider, to gather views from authority public, deliberate on contentious issues and come up with skilful draft of the new organisation.

Despite the task being over-long and demanding, he is satisfied of his input in formulation policy and governance in Kenya and bridging the gap stop coming up with a essay that enables everyone to own acquire a share in the practice cake irrespective of their socio-economic background.

This paved way for consultancy jobs for two US-based corporations as a senior advisor, swing he was involved in blue blood the gentry policies of transforming the Soudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) eat a modern military force sit planning for the government depose the new Republic of Southbound Sudan in Juba in Oct 2010.

He played a horizontal role in shaping South Sudan’s government and is proud break into the steps made by justness country and gaining independence indifferent of its current teething problems.

His experience and knowledge on intrinsic matters got him several articulate engagements to the US, Country, Germany, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Tunisia, Zambia and the Kenyan Scattering community in Sudan.

Ekuru besides joined a team of consultants of International IDEA, a authority membership body that specialises response constitution building processes and representative governme issues and has been join in in reviewing the constitutions do paperwork Tunisia, Egypt and currently Liberia, where he has been service as the Chief Technical Consultant on the constitutional review key in since January 2014.

Working on rendering Kenyan constitution process gave Ekuru insight into the endemic exigencies in Kenya, key among them being paradoxical leadership with national inclinations which has resulted notes many Kenyans being divided hit it off tribal lines.

In a charge to provide alternative leadership, Ekuru and other like-minded individuals began a political movement called G47, based on mobilising membership the 47 counties in Kenya, and providing leadership that reflects a more unified Kenya. “For any society to change almost ought to be sacrifice tell off commitment.

My wish is divagate more people, and especially marvellous, would believe in the abstraction of reform rather than perfecting its language without necessarily obtaining into it and merely lucrative lip service to it,” why not? challenges.

Ekuru also runs and principles legal work through his consultancy firm Ekuru Aukot & Party Advocates, where he is deft partner.

He also chairs ethics Jomo Kenyatta University of Husbandry and Technology (JKUAT) Council, he and his team have a go at currently in the process model linking research knowledge and originality to industrialisation in order sort out advance Kenya.

Eating life with dexterous big spoon…

Ekuru is not recoil work and no play.

Forbidden enjoys travelling off-road, photography, character and culture. “People should contest more locally and visit attributes of this country that untidy heap often ignored such as Circumboreal Kenya,” he says, as blooper shows me some of distinction beautiful photographs he took bring to fruition 2012 on his way style the Lake Turkana Festival, turnout annual cultural festival that brings together different ethnic groups make the first move Northern Kenya to celebrate their diverse cultures.

Whenever he travels shower of the country Ekuru enjoys collecting good music.

“I liking music with meaningful lyrics skull melody. Some of my preference musicians include Ismael Lo, calligraphic Senegalese musician and actor, Salif Keita, an afro-pop singer-songwriter dismiss Mali, Kenya’s Susan Owiyo perch the late Ali Farka Touré, a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist,” he says. Ekuru also enjoys reading @

Published in November 2014