Hon. Lady Justice Cecilia Wathaiya Githua is the High Court judge who found former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his two co-accused guilty of the 2018 killing of Sharon Otieno, building the case on motive and joint enterprise where there was no confession and no eyewitness.
That judgment is one chapter in a 37-year career.
Born in Kiambu County. LLB, University of Nairobi, 1987. Kenya School of Law, 1988. Admitted to the Bar the same year. A brief spell at Khaminwa & Khaminwa Advocates — then, in 1989, the Judiciary. She entered as a District Magistrate II and spent 22 years climbing to Chief Magistrate and In 2011 ascended to the High Court bench and gathered an MBA from UoN along the way.
Since then: Milimani. Kerugoya. Eldoret. Kisii. Murang’a and now Naivasha.
She is credited for breathing life into Victims Rights by ruling that victims’ lawyers can cross-examine witnesses and address the court — not just sit and watch. That reshaped criminal trial practice in Kenya.
And when the Judiciary needed judges to sit in judgment of a judge, she was called. She served on the tribunal that inquired into the conduct of Environment and Land Court Judge Mohammed Noor Kullow — a panel that reviewed 13 allegations and unanimously found none met the threshold for misconduct, recommending his reinstatement.
Off the bench, she has served as Chairperson of the National Committee on Community Service Orders. Chairperson, KMJA Nairobi Region. Vice-President of the International Association of Women Judges, Kenya Chapter. Member of the Task Force reviewing the law on the Power of Mercy. A mentor to young people.
Three decades. A quiet reputation. A very loud legacy.
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