It is the expectation of any person that a member of the Avid Readers’ Forum (ARF) was or has always been an avid reader. Allow me to greatly fail to meet your expectations. This writing, unlike the others that may focus on the journey of the ARF, focuses on my journey through the Avid Readers’ Forum: from being a not-so-lover of reading to my “Damascus moment” of joining ARF and becoming a moderator of the forum.
I joined Kabarak Law School in September 2020. Since it was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of our classes were online. Fortunately for me, one could easily evade answering questions and responding during the classes. Thus, in situations where you had not properly prepared for the class or gone through all the reading assignments, the option of feigning network failure was always a go-to option.
First forward to the year 2022, I joined my Devolution and Governance class. It was led by the one and only, Mwalimu Elisha Ongoya. So, for those who have had the honour of studying the unit, you would understand the necessity of extensive reading that is needed. In one of our classes, Mwalimu sent a pretty lengthy assignment, although I do not consider it lengthy at the moment. In the next class, I do not remember any member of the class who had read everything. He questioned why nobody had read all the work and a “suicidal” member hastily spoke what was in my mind, ‘Because they were innumerable and lengthy’. I was silently hoping that they would add, “and boring” to that list. Disappointedly, Mwalimu asked ‘If you can’t read all the numerous pages as a lawyer, which other profession do you expect to read all of that?’ He left the class and challenged us to read at least one case law each day, which, while the motivation was still on fire and clear in my heart and mind, I did. Until the rains of fatigue caught up with me.
A semester later, I was spotlighted in my Jurisprudence class, which was still led by Mwalimu. The happenings of that class might be dusty and cloudy to many, but to me, it was my “Damascus moment”. He asked whether any of us wanted to be teachers of law in the future. I confidently raised my hand. It was probably the only hand at that moment. He stared through me and inquired whether I had read a course book for any unit, cover to cover. I hesitated! This was because I knew that I had achieved no such feat. He could tell that I was about to lie. Now, Mwalimu is one person you cannot lie to, and even if you succeed at any point, he will still later on catch you. How and why, is a mystery I say, as he is not a prophet. The man does possess the name of the father of two disciples of Jesus in addition to the name of a prophet!
He once asked me the name of the author of a famous international law course book and I did not know or could not remember the answer. Another student answered it. Mwalimu looked at me and asked, ‘Would you still want to be a teacher of law without being able to read?’ That was a life-changing question for me right there. I promised myself there and then, to nurture a reading culture and to be a teacher of law, just to show Mwalimu that I had changed.
The problem is never the starting of a habit, it is the consistency and keeping up of the habit that, you may not waste away. This can be achieved by joining a book club or the Avid Readers’ Forum.
My first ARF session was led by Mwalimu Ongoya on an article written by Prof Migai Aketch titled ‘The Basic Structure “Doctrine” and the Politics of Constitutional Change in Kenya: Case of Judicial Adventurism?’. With just a handful of participants, the session was intriguing and extremely interesting. I remember listening to students chipping in with their opinions on the article and I thought to myself, that I could do the same. It was not that hard, I just had to read. ARF was the perfect place to nurture a reading spirit with other people who seemed to love to do the same.
In September 2023, I took over the student organizer mantle from Marion Joy. On the 27th of September 2023, I moderated the very first session for that semester. It was also my first ever moderation. The lead discussant was Mr Kelly Malenya who led us through two speeches, namely, ‘I am an African’ by Thabo Mbeki and ‘The Regeneration of Africa’ by Pexley Seme. The two pieces were both non-legal reads that intrigued the students and challenged them to seek to understand the African reality so that they could change the continent for the better. During that discussion, we had students from different schools, unlike the previous sessions where only law students would attend.
An unforgettable occasion occurred during one of the discussions that we had later on in the semester. A bold student asked the question ‘So what?’, ‘So what that we are having these discussions yet we cannot implement or rather change the reality of things?’ If I was to answer I would say, so that as students we would study and understand current developments in the legal and non-legal sectors. So that it would open our minds and enable us to engage critically such that when we get the chance to make the change we would already be a step ahead.
When it comes to my favourite session, I would mention one that was led by Mr. Guto Mogere where he discussed two speeches made by Thomas Babington Macaulay on Copyright. In his discussion, he brought out the aspects of being a great lawyer. These included reading extensively (meaning we were a step ahead as the ARF members), elegance in linguistic skills, and having courtesy - learning the art of advocacy. Notably, too, Lady Justice Ong’undi, was in attendance, and she opined that to be a great lawyer, one has to develop a habit of reading good quality material widely.
In conclusion, ARF as part of my law school journey has been a sanctuary of intellectual growth and a safehold for my opinions on different legal matters. The takeaways from organizing the sessions, to having anxiety on whether they would be successful, to cultivating my moderation skills and confidence, will always remain close to my heart. One of my silent prayers after every session would be that the discussion has made an impact on one or many of the participants and that it would largely help the world be a better place. I know it did for me!
As the Forum turns Five, I pray that it remains a beacon of ideas and positive change in reading and discourse of information to the wider globe. I hope it one day helps to move the world. Happy fifth anniversary Avid Readers Forum!
