Annie Kameri-Mbote: First Kenyan woman to receive a higher doctorate degree from the University of Nairobi
Annie Patricia Kameri-Mbote has created history by emerging as the first woman and the sixth person to ever receive a higher doctorate degree from The University of Nairobi (UoN).
This was announced on Wednesday, July 17, by UoN when Kameri-Mbote publicly presented her Doctor of Laws (LLD) thesis titled “Contending Norms in a Plural Legal System: The Limits of Formal Law” at the university’s main campus, Taifa Hall.
The historic thesis presented before a multitude of staff, students, Acting Vice-Chancellor Isaac Mbeche, Chief Justice David Maraga, and his deputy Philomena Mwilu, former CJ Willy Mutunga, among other top legal personalities was also honored as the first-ever public presentation of a higher doctorate thesis in East and Central Africa.
The highly revered Kameri-Mbote began studying law at the UoN, the University of Warwick, the University of Zimbabwe and then further pursue her doctoral studies at Stanford University in the United States.
Commenting on the feat, VC Mbeche said, “Prof Patricia Kameri-Mbote was determined and committed to further her studies. She studied at Stanford in 1995 and got a Masters and Doctorate degrees.”
She is also an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and an associate professor of law at the faculty of law at the UoN. As well as publishing widely in the areas of environmental law, property rights, international law and women’s rights.
Kameri-Mbote’s research interests include public international law, intellectual property rights, human rights, women’s rights, environment, and natural resources law and policy, biotechnology policy and law and economic law.
The higher doctorate degree was conferred on Kameri-Mbote because of her original published work which earned her an international standing in her field of research and as per the UoN policy.
A higher doctorate degree is a postgraduate research degree, which a candidate’s original published work in a particular field are recognized and occasionally honored.
Thereafter, the work is analyzed by a series of evaluation panel consisting of the chairperson of the University Senate, deputy vice-chancellors, dean of the relevant faculty, principal of the relevant college and director board of postgraduate studies.
Since inception, the UoN has awarded a higher doctorate degree to a total of six candidates namely are Prof John Onyango Kokwaro (2008), Prof Geoffrey Mariaso (2013), Prof David Musyimi (2013), Justice Jackton Ojwang’ (2015), Prof Julius Ogeng’o (2018), and Prof Kameri-Mbote (2019), the only woman.
