Justice Eric Ogola is a seasoned High Court judge whose work spans constitutional, commercial and public accountability cases.
He has most notably drawn national attention for his role on the Bench in the impeachment proceedings involving former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Justice Eric Ogola serves as the Principal Judge of the High Court, a position he assumed in September 2022.
Eric Ogola’s Early Life and Education
Justice Eric Ogola’s early life details are not fully set out in the public Judiciary profile.
He is an alumnus of the University of Nairobi and later earned an LLM in Maritime Law from the University of Cape Town.
Before joining the Judiciary in 2011, he had already spent about 20 years in legal practice after being admitted to the Roll of Advocates in 1992.
His practice focused on admiralty and maritime law, commercial law, labour law, banking, mergers and acquisitions, and mining matters.
Career
Justice Eric Kennedy Okumu Ogola’s career has been split between private legal practice and the Judiciary.
After being admitted as an advocate in 1992, he practiced law for about 20 years, focusing on admiralty and maritime law, commercial law, labor law, banking, mergers and acquisitions, and mining matters.
He joined the Judiciary in 2011 as a High Court judge and first served in the Milimani Commercial Division from 2011 to 2016.
He then served as a presiding judge at the Mombasa High Court from 2016 to 2021, and later at the Eldoret High Court from 2021 to 2022.
In September 2022, he was elected Principal Judge of the High Court of Kenya and later formally installed in that role.
Beyond judging, he has also taught law at the University of Nairobi, founded the university’s Mombasa Law Campus in 2008, and served as a consultant for the World Bank and Kenya’s Ministry of Transport.
His professional reputation is especially strong in maritime law, where he is recognized as one of Kenya’s few specialists and has contributed to reforms that helped shape Kenya’s maritime legal framework.
Justice Eric Ogola was elected Principal Judge of the High Court in September 2022 by his fellow High Court judges, after which Chief Justice Martha Koome formally appointed him, and he was later installed into office.
He had served as a High Court judge since 2011, including stints in the Milimani Commercial Division, the Mombasa High Court, and the Eldoret High Court.
Justice Ogola was also awarded a certificate of excellence presented at his installation as Principal Judge, recognizing his leadership and institutional stewardship of the High Court from 2018 to 2022.
Notable Cases
Justice Eric Ogola has handled several high-profile matters that have shaped his public profile on the Bench.
Among them is the Mombasa Ksh3.8 billion land dispute, where he found that the claimants had not proved ownership of the 600-acre property and declared the title illegal.
He has also been involved in national judicial processes linked to the Shakahola tragedy, including presiding over the swearing-in of members of the Commission of Inquiry into the killings.
Family and Net Worth
Justice Eric Ogola keeps his personal life private, with little publicly available information about his family.
His professional profile has largely remained the focus of public attention, in line with the judiciary’s tradition of discretion.
Details regarding his net worth are also not publicly disclosed.
As with many judicial officers, financial information is not openly available.
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