NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 11– Kenya’s High Court Judge Nixon Sifuna is among winners of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM) 2022 Accountability in Action Awards.
Sifuna won the award alongside Burundi’s, Director of the Road Agency Regis Mpawenayo.
The annual award, launched in 2022, recognizes individuals and organizations that have made exceptional contributions to accountability during their engagement in the IRM’s complaints-handling process.
Justice Sifuna, an environmental lawyer and Associate Professor of Law, played a crucial role in the AfDB’s Kapenguria-Makutano Towns Sewerage Project in Kenya.
He represented over 500 people affected by the project in a complaint handled by the IRM through its compliance review process.
Justice Sifuna’s involvement and contributions in the complaint-handling process led to a successful outcome for the complainants, resulting in the Bank relocating the project from the proposed Kapenguria site to an alternative site in Makutano.
“Despite the award being in its inaugural year, we received a number of nominations, which reflects the growing recognition of the importance of accountability in sustainable development,” said Prof. Damilola Olawuyi, Chair of the Stakeholder Advisory Council.
“The winners have demonstrated exceptional commitment to accountability, fairness, and collaboration, and we are proud to honor their achievements.”
Leading courtroom lawyer
Before his appointment as a Judge of the High Court of Kenya, Justice Sifuna spent 27 years at the bar as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, where he was one of Kenya’s leading courtroom lawyers.
He also taught law for 18 years at Moi University Faculty of Law, where he rose through the ranks from lecturer to senior lecturer and later to Associate Professor of Law in 2011.
Additionally, he has been an external examiner at the University of Nairobi’s Center for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP) and the Strathmore University School of Law.
Justice Sifuna’s representation of clients in international tribunals, such as the World Bank’s Inspection Unit and the AfDB.
