Mutamba Jac Derrick 𝕏

Yesterday, I came across one of my female friends from the University of Nairobi (UoN) Law School. She is an Associate at a prestigious law firm in Kenya’s Wall Street. I asked her how she managed to rise to the top. Overcoming the tribal structures in big law firms and going against the belief that young advocates can’t secure positions there. Her answer was interesting. She told me that it is more than just performance. For example, she was not at the top of her class. The best mark she scored in the CLE exams was a 62. She didn’t tell me what exactly helped her get the position. And surely it is not tribal connections, since she is a Luo in a firm dominated by Kikuyus. She still hasn’t given me a clear answer. It can’t even be performance, because she can’t confidently express herself.