In June 2021, Dr Imaana Laibuta was sworn in as Kenya’s first blind judge at State House, Nairobi.
The ceremony was attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Chief Justice Martha Koome.
Laibuta was promoted to Court of Appeal Judge after Uhuru accepted his application from the Judiciary Service Commission (JSC).
He lost his sight at the age of 22, while in his first year of university. He stated that this was merely a medical accident.
“I got treated for malaria, got treated with Chloroquine, got Chloroquine poisoning and my sight went in two hours. The first thing you are confronted with is shock unless the loss of sight is gradual and you know it is coming. When it is a sudden loss of total sight, you are thrown into shock, confusion, you are derailed from your normal course in life; be it school, college, work etc
“The bitterness was more due to the fact that the medical personnel had no idea what was going on. Some consultants would say, “Oh no, this is just temporary, it will wear off in a year or so.” So you are like a guinea pig in a hospital for a month and 10 days undergoing all manner of tests. Eventually, I left the hospital not knowing what had happened. But what I know for sure is that it came out of that treatment,” he said.
Prior to his promotion, Laibuta was a commissioner at Kenya’s Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution.
He is both a Chartered Arbitrator (CArb) and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
For the past 26 years, Laibuta has worked as an advocate for the High Court of Kenya.
He is also an arbitration facilitator for the Law Society of Kenya’s continuous legal education (CLE).
Laibuta also worked as a law lecturer for 24 years and was an approved educator, trainer, examiner, moderator, and assessor for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Outside of Kenya, he chaired the management board of the Kenya Chapter of Voluntary Services Overseas [VSO-Jitolee (EA) Volunteering], was a member of the Kenya Society for the Blind’s executive council and chaired the Education and Rehabilitation Committee.
The Appellate Judge has co-facilitated a number of consultation workshops, seminars and conferences hosted by the IDP Africa Forum, UNDPK, the Kenya Society for the Blind and the Law Reform Commission on the UN Convention and domestic legislation governing the rights of people with disabilities.
In Botswana, he collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Botswana Ministry of Health to draft the National Policy on Disability.
Laibuta holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Law from the University of Nairobi, School of Law (2009-2012). A Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the London School of Economics (University of London), a Post Graduate Studies degree from the Kenya School of Law, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Law.
He is also a professional mediator, having studied Alternative Dispute Resolution at the University of California in the United States.
