Amos Wako (born 31 July 1945) is a former Attorney General of Kenya and the first senator for

Busia County Busia is a county in the former Western Province of Kenya. It borders Kakamega County to the east, Bungoma County to the north, Lake Victoria and Siaya County to the south and Busia District, Uganda to the west. The county has about 893,000 pe ...

from 2013 to 2017. Wako won the senatorial seat after defeating former minister of finance Chris Okemo. He won the senator seat on an

Orange Democratic Movement The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is a centre-left political party in Kenya. It is the successor of a grassroots people's movement which was formed during the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum campaign. This movement separated in Augus ...

(ODM) being led by former Prime Minister

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata and businessman who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He is assumed to be the Leader of Opposition in Kenya sin ...

. A lawyer by profession Wako served as the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

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

for 20 years (from 13 May 1991 to 26 August 2011). During his reign as the attorney general, Wako was an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, a member of the International Commission of Jurists, Member Council of Legal Education, was a Member Council of International Bar Association. Legal Advisor to Young men Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.) and Kenya Boy Scouts Association. Member Faculty Board of Law, University of Nairobi Member, O.A.U. Committee of experts on the O.A.U. charter Review Committee and African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. In 1977 Wako was Awarded fellow International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and 1978 he was Honoured as a life member of Wiltshire Bar Association

Biography

Wako was born in Kenya. He was educated at

Kakamega School Kakamega School, formerly known as Government African School Kakamega and Kakamega High School, is a four-year high school in Kakamega, Western Kenya, founded in 1932. Mr. Harold Arthur Waterloo Chapman, a graduate of University of Oxford, was m ...

, and the Alliance High School and earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, a

Bachelor of Laws 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 Ch ...

at the University College of Dar es Salaam, and a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mo ...

at the University of London. He served in several professional organizations, including holding the position of Secretary General of the African Bar Association from 1978 to 1980, and as the first secretary general of the Inter-African Union of Lawyers. He is a member of the Faculty Board of Law at the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi. It is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent univer ...

. Between 1985 and 1992, he was a member of the UN Human Rights Committee. He worked for Kaplan & Stratton from March 1969 and became a Partner from April 1972 to May 1991 when he was appointed Attorney General. Wako served as LSK chairman from 1979 to 1981. He was also held numerous positions in regional and global bodies dealing with constitutional and governance affairs. Amos Wako has been the Attorney General at a historic and transitional period in the history of Kenya. Some of the matters dealt with are: Oversaw the transition from one party state to a multiparty democracy (December 1991) and from one Government to another through a free and fair election in which the ruling (KANU) was defeated by the opposition (NARC) (December 2002). Piloted through Parliament the necessary Constitutional amendments and legislation including providing for a multi-party democratic State and setting up of an independent Electoral Commission. Chaired National Constitutional Conferences consisting of Members of Parliament, religious leaders and representatives of the civil society. Member of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission. Drafted the proposed new Constitution of Kenya based on the Constitution of Kenya Bill as drafted by the National Constitutional Conference and as amended by Parliament. This was Draft constitution was nicknamed "the Wako Draft", but failed miserably at the

2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Kenya on 21 November 2005. Although many government officials, including President Mwai Kibaki, had campaigned for a "yes" vote, the proposed new constitution was rejected by 58% of voters. Despite the ...

. He kept his position as Attorney General through the transition from

Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013 and is regarded as one of Kenya's founding fathers. He had previously ser ...

. He is dealing with the

Goldenberg scandal The Goldenberg scandal was a political scandal where the Kenyan government was found to have subsidised exports of gold far beyond standard arrangements during the 1990s, by paying the company Goldenberg International 35% more (in Kenyan shilling ...

, a long-running corruption scandal that has lasted his entire time as Attorney General. In October 2009 he was given a travel ban by the USA for 'deliberately blocking political reforms' following post-poll violence in 2008. Mr Amos Wako left the State Law Office on 26 August 2011 as per the new constitution which demanded him to leave office One year after its promulgation. He is Succeeded by Prof Githu Muigai. He joined the Orange Democratic Movement, on whose ticket he contested the Busia senate seat in the 4 March General Election. On 18 November 2019, the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

announced that Amos Wako, his wife and child were barred for travel to the US due to significant corruption.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wako, Amos 1945 births Living people Members of the Senate of Kenya 20th-century Kenyan lawyers Corruption in Kenya Government ministers of Kenya Alumni of Kakamega School United Nations Human Rights Committee members University of Dar es Salaam alumni Alumni of the University of London Attorneys General of Kenya Kenyan officials of the United Nations 21st-century Kenyan lawyers

Biography

See also

References