Shadrack Billy Otwori Gutto, Professor

It is with deepest sadness that we at Kituo Cha Sheria (KITUO) received the news of the passing of Prof. Shadrack Gutto. Prof Gutto transitioned yesterday at 14.15 hrs in South Africa. Even though he is no longer physically with us, his spirit remains alive in the vision, mission and values of KITUO. Prof Gutto contributed immensely to KITUO at its formative stages. At the time of the establishment of KITUO, Prof Gutto was a young lawyer donning an Afro-hair style that he would so proudly remember when he warmly shared the founding of this great organization. Digging into our archives, we found that in October 1973, Prof Gutto on behalf of the organization received the Guiness Stout Effort Award from the then Attorney- General Charles Njonjo for the role that the Centre had played in enhancing access to justice. In that particular function, Prof Gutto appealed for more volunteer advocates and donations to support the expansion of the organization all over the country. We continue to echo his call to date. When one of our founders, Mr Steve Adere, passed on in 2021, Prof Gutto scribed a moving and nostalgic tribute to their contribution. He wrote, 'Long before it became fashionable to claim to be a human rights lawyer or to form a civil society organisation (CSO)/non-government organisation (NGO) devoted to promoting and providing free legal advice and related services to the poor and disadvantaged in Kenya, a few private professional legal practitioners (a.k.a. advocates) in Nairobi and social activist legal academics from the then new Faculty of Law at the University of Nairobi (UoN), decided to establish a the Kituo Cha Sheria/Legal Advice Centre. This was between 1971 and 1972. I was a young bearded young man with an Afro-hair style when I started studying for an LLB degree as a law student at UoN in 1972 and almost immediately volunteered to take statements from people who sought legal advice and/or representation from the volunteering advocates at the Centre... Most of the young Black African lawyers who established Kituo Cha Sheria were from the then big law firms, especially Hamilton & Mathews, Kaplan & Stratton and Archer & Wilcok. The volunteering legal academics included Willy Mutunga...' We have no doubt that Prof Gutto has joined the Hall of Fame of Esteemed Justice Ancestors. 50 years down the road, KITUO continues to enhance access to justice. Before his demise, Prof Gutto applauded the growth and expansion of KITUO. He urged that we should use the opportunities presented in the 2010 Constitution to improve the justice outcomes of Kenyans. In his memory, we commit to do so as we embark on our journey towards the next half century of our existence. Through KITUO's impact on the lives of many, the legacy of Prof. Gutto lives on. As an organization, we wish to express our most sincere condolences to KITUO and the legal fraternity, family and friends of Prof Gutto. Rest with the angels, Prof. Board of Directors and Management