Sir (Edward) Enoch Jenkins (8 February 1895 – 25 February 1960) was a British lawyer and judge. He served as

Attorney General of Fiji The Attorney-General is a political and legal officer in Fiji. The attorney-general is the chief law officer of the State, and has responsibility for supervising Fijian law and advising the government on legal matters. Like other members of the ...

from 1938 to 1945. He subsequently served as Chief Justice of Nyasaland.

Early life

Jenkins was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, on 8 February 1895 to William Jenkins and Briar Dene. He was known by his middle name. Educated initially at Howard Gardens Municipal Secondary School in Cardiff, he later studied at

University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

, also in Cardiff. Jenkins served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

with the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

during and after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914-1920, and again in 1925). He was admitted to

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

on 16 May 1919, taking up residence in

Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite o ...

on 8 October and beginning his matriculation on 21 October that year. He graduated with

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and

LL.B Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degrees in 1922. He subsequently earned a postgraduate

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in 1928.

Legal career

Jenkins was called to the bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

on 14 May 1924. He entered the colonial service in

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

in 1925, before becoming Solicitor General of

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

in 1936. He then served as

from 1938 to 1945; towards the end of his term, he was appointed Chief Justice of Nyasaland on 8 November 1944. As Chief Justice, he headed a commission of inquiry into a riot that had taken place at Zomba Prison in November 1949. He was criticised by both Sir Geoffrey Colby, the

Governor of Nyasaland List of Colonial Heads of Malawi (Nyasaland) (Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continuation of office) For continuation after independence, ''see: '' List of heads of state of Malawi References See also *History of Malawi *Governor-Ge ...

, and the Legislative Council, for allegedly paying undue attention to "matters of relatively minor significance" and of ignoring what they believed was the fundamental cause of the problem: the breakdown of discipline in the prison over the previous two years. Sometime before September 1953, he was appointed a Justice of Appeal on the

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

-based

Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa The East African Court of Appeal (EACA) was a court which served as the appellate court for the British colonies in eastern Africa and west Asia. The court was established in 1902 as the Eastern African Court of Appeal and was the appellate court ...

. He sat as one of the judges on

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...

's unsuccessful appeal against his conviction for organizing the Mau Mau movement. He was still reported as serving on the Court of Appeal as of 24 December 1954.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Edward Enoch British colonial officials Attorneys General of the Colony of Fiji Solicitors general British Kenya judges Chief Justices of Nyasaland 1895 births 1960 deaths British expatriates in Fiji Members of Gray's Inn Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Alumni of Cardiff University 20th-century Welsh lawyers East African Court of Appeal judges British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery officers