The late Judy Thongori/Handout
Late lawyer Judy Thongori was a women’s rights activist with over 30 years of practice in law.
She was born in 1965 and rose in her career, even spending five years leading an association of women lawyers.
She was educated at Kahuhia Girls' High School for Ordinary Level (O-Level) and at The Kenya High School for Advanced Level (A-Level)
She graduated from the law school at the University of Nairobi.
Thongori began her career at the Attorney General’s office.
Later on, she left the AG’s office to join Lee Muthoga & Associates.
She rose in her career and founded her own company, Judy Thongori & Co-Advocates in February 2003.
The firm offers a full range of legal services in family Law, delivering legal services in matrimonial disputes, children’s matters and succession matters.
The firm has also embraced mediation as a tool for dispute resolution and are accredited by the Judiciary for Court-Annexed Mediation.
Thongori also served as Deputy Director and Head of Litigation at the Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida-Kenya).
In her role at FIDA, she was instrumental in shaping policies that protect women’s rights and advocating for the legal empowerment of women.
At irst she was resistant to the idea of joining the Firebrand women’s lobby because she felt she was just a commercial lawyer.
“I told them no, what would I do in Fida? I’m a commercial lawyer. But they told me just come, you will like it there. They told me that you should and you will be happy there as the head of litigation,” she said.
In her legal practice, Thongori prosecuted several landmark cases. She successfully sued the government over failure to achieve 30 per cent women's representation in leadership.
In 2013, she contributed to the development of the Matrimonial Property Act as well as the development of the Marriage Act, which became law in 2014.
In the same year, Thongori became the first woman lawyer to be inducted into the Law Society’s Roll of Honour.
In 2015, she was awarded by the Law Society of Kenya in recognition of offering pro-Bono legal services.
In 2020, she was elevated to the rank of senior counsel.
She was also a panelist at the biggest radio talkshow on Kiss 100—Crossfire, hosted by former Radio Africa Group CEO Patrick Quarcoo and the current Radio Africa Group Editorial Director Paul Ilado. Other panelists in the show included the late Senior Counsel Mutula Kilonzo, Mukhisa Kituyi and Tony Gachoka.
According to her profile, Thongori has over 30 years of practice as a lawyer, with ten years in active commercial practice and over 20 years in Family Law Practice.
“Judy has extensively litigated on behalf of many family members in family disputes at all levels in the court and has contributed to public awareness and discourse on various aspects of Family Law through audio, television, and print media,” the bio reads.
In 2015, Thongori was chosen to be one of 21 women who met for a conference at Havard University Kennedy School of Government funded by Hunt Alternatives.
In 2023, she joined a committee to look at the activities of radical religious groups formed by President William Ruto.
The committee of seventeen was formed following the Shakahola saga.
Thongori died following a short illness in India on January 14, 2025.