Sir Mota Singh, QC (26 July 1930 – 13 November 2016) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

judge who was noted for being the United Kingdom's first Asian judge.

Early life

Singh was born in 1930 in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

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Career

After a short stint as a clerk at the East African Railways and Harbours, he joined a European firm of lawyers in Nairobi. He was married meanwhile to Swaran Kaur in 1950 and a daughter was born a year later. He continued his Bar studies. In 1953, Singh accompanied by his wife and daughter went to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. After passing the Bar final examinations in 1955, he returned to Kenya in 1956, to start his own practice as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

in Nairobi. He also entered politics and was elected a City Councillor and then elevated to the position of

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of the City of Nairobi. He went on to hold many responsible positions before he decided in 1965 to emigrate to

. He joined the English bar in 1967 and made headlines with his appointment to the bench in 1982, the first from a minority ethnic group and first judge to sit on the English Bench wearing a turban instead of a horse-hair wig. Singh retired from the Bench in 2002.

Honours

In 2010, Singh was knighted by the Queen for his services to the judiciary and for his charitable works.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Mota 1930 births 2016 deaths British people of Indian descent British Sikhs Kenyan emigrants to the United Kingdom Kenyan people of Indian descent Knights Bachelor Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom People from Nairobi