Nairobi News

The Judicial Service Commission on March 19, 2024, announced the appointment of Ms Frida Boyani Mokaya as the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary for a five-year term.

Having beaten six other shortlisted candidates from the initial 43 candidates who expressed interest in the position, Ms Mokaya replaces Ms Anne Atieno Amadi who retired in January 2024 after 10 years of service.

Nairobi News now explores 14 quick facts about Ms Mokaya, a public servant with 27 years of work experience in the Kenyan Judiciary.

1. She attended Kipsigis Girls High School between 1984 and 1989 where she attained her Kenya Certificate of Education and Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education.
2. She joined the University of Nairobi in 1990 where she studied for a Bachelor of Laws and attained Upper Second Class honours before joining the Kenya School of Law in 1994 for her post-graduate Diploma in Law.
3. She went on to return to the University of Nairobi where she is currently a Candidate in the Masters in Law program.
4. For 14 years, she was a Judicial Officer, rising from District Magistrate II to Senior Principal Magistrate- a career spanning courts in Nairobi, Kisumu and Kisii Counties.
5. She is an active member of the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA), the Kenya Women Judges Association (KWJA), the Institute
   of Certified Public Secretaries (ICPSK) and the East African Magistrates and Judges Association (EAMJA).
6. Ms Mokaya is also a Certified Public Secretary (CPS-K) has a Strategic Leadership and Management Certification from the Kenya School of Government.
7. She has undertaken nine selected leadership and management professional trainings in Strategic Leadership, Board and Executive Management, Modern administration; Corporate governance, Public finance: tax administration, Human rights: child rights, Legal aid: discrimination, violence, property rights and human trafficking, International Law and Refugee protection, Environmental Crime: drug and substance abuse reduction, Judicial Integrity, Accountability and Rectitude: Anti-Corruption and economic crimes, promotion and protection of judicial independence in Eastern Africa.
8. Before her appointment, she worked as the Registrar, of the Judicial Service Commission from 2012 to date (March 19, 2024).
9. She has the community at heart and has been part of several community service programs including building a classroom at her rural home for her family’s farm workers, as well as providing them with stationery for their education.
10. Out of her pocket, she annually financially supports the House of Charity Children’s Home in Nairobi, widows within and without their families, paying school fees for children in the family and community.
11. She also donated library books to the local primary school – Nyambaria Geke Primary School as well as contributed to the construction of the local church- Nyambaria Geke SDA Church.
12. “As a person, I am highly self-driven with a deep passion for delivery of results. I bring to my environment a high sense of personal integrity, confidentiality, honesty and responsibility which I often apply to creatively identifying problems and challenges, translating these into opportunities and innovating them into practical, workable solutions at a strategic, tactical or operational level,” says Ms Mokaya about her personal strengths, competencies and attributes.
13. She intentionally does not participate in any political activities or belong to any political party.
14. Ms Mokaya submitted a 36-page submission as part of her application for the Chief Registrar of Judiciary job vacancy, titled it ‘The Road Ahead’, and branded her agenda ‘A Calling to Deliver’.