Kabarak University Press is honoured to host the Bonaya Godana Distinguished Lectures.

These Lectures are established to honour the legacy of Dr Bonaya Adhi Godana, who was a great Kenyan statesman and international lawyer who was passionately committed to uplifting the peoples of Africa and in particular his native homelands of North West Kenya. HE Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf in his inaugural 2026 Lecture, described Dr Godana as one whose ‘vision as a statesman and international lawyer transcended the African continent and embraced all the peoples of what we call today the Global South. He was a true “tiersmondiste”’.

He was born on 2 September 1952 and died on 10 April 2006 in a tragic Kenya Air Force plane crash along with 13 other high ranking government officials.

Dr Godana, the Statesman^[1]

Dr Bonaya Godana was not merely a renowned politician, he was a great statesman. He dedicated much of his adult life to public service. Judge Yusuf describes him thus in his 2026 Lecture:

‘His study and practice of the law was aimed at affecting/improving people’s lives for the better. He wanted to explore how best the law should be used to improve living standards, to improve the quality of life of the people; to uplift the poor and to bring about more equality among peoples and nations, and to ensure peace and protect our planet. To this end, he explored different aspects of the law far and wide in his research and writings; he then went into action as a politician in order to bring his ideas into life and ensure that they had a real impact on people’s lives.’

He served as the Member of Parliament for North Horr Constituency (1988-2006). President Moi appointed him as an assistant minister in various ministries in the 1990s. He worked in Health, the Office of the President and later, Foreign Affairs. His astute leadership qualities and commitment to public service quickly gained recognition, propelling him to the distinguished position of Deputy Speaker, a role he skilfully held until 1997. Following his remarkable tenure as Deputy Speaker, President Moi appointed Dr Godana Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1997. In January 1998, Dr Godana was appointed as Kenya’s Foreign Minister. Later, in 2001, Dr Godana assumed the crucial role of Minister for Agriculture.

Dr Godana’s international law scholarship

Before he joined politics, Dr Godana was a highly acclaimed scholar of international law. Among the first graduates from the Faculty of Law at the University of Nairobi, he earned his Bachelor of Laws in 1973, becoming the first to earn first class honours. He completed his Master of Laws in 1976, also from the University of Nairobi. In 1984, he graduated from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva with a PhD in law. His PhD research in fresh water international law was not only ahead of his time, but is still so today.

In 1985, he published Africa’s shared water resources: Legal and institutional aspects of the Nile, Niger and Senegal river systems, a book that a leading text for international policy makers, including in the World Bank.

He taught international law at the University of Nairobi in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s and served from 1986 to 1988 as the Chairman of the Public Law Department in the Faculty of Law.

Celebrating Bonaya Godana’s legacy (2023-2025)

Since 2023, Kabarak University Press has made efforts to celebrate the legacy of Dr Bonaya Godana. These include:

• Publishing an article titled ‘Bonaya Adhi Godana: A legacy of leadership, scholarship and diplomacy’ in the Kabarak Law Review Vol 2 (2023)
• Hosting a webinar on 18 July 2026 which was graced by his widow Hon Sara Bonaya, and his lifetime friend HE Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf of the International Court of Justice and then Prof Phoebe Okowa (who is now HE Judge Phoebe Okowa of the ICJ) < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLfXVul27S0 >.

• Running a blog on international law scholarship named Bonaya Godana Blog on the Kabarak University website < https://kabarak.ac.ke/bonaya >.

Bonaya Godana Distinguished Lectures

HE Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf, former president of the International Court of Justice will visit Kabarak University to deliver the Bonaya Godana Distinguished Lecture 2026 on 24 April 2026.

Judge Abdulqawi A. Yusuf is a former Judge of the International Court of Justice, The Hague, the Netherlands. He was elected as judge to the court in November 2008 and served until September 2025. He was President of the Court from 6 February 2018 to 6 February 2021, Vice-President of the Court from 6 February 2015 to 6 February 2018. He is a member of the Institut de Droit International, and a former chief legal counsel to various intergovernmental organizations, including UNESCO and UNIDO. He is the founder of the African Institute of International Law (AIIL), Arusha, Tanzania and of the African Yearbook of International Law. He is the author of numerous publications on various aspects of international law. He holds a Ph.D. in international law from the IUHEI (Graduate Institute), Geneva.

Judge Yusuf was Dr Godana’s classmate at the Graduate Institute Geneva during their doctoral studies in the early 1980s.

The 2026 Bonaya Godana Distinguished Lecture, delivered by Judge Yusuf, is titled: ‘International rule of law and the Global South’.

Download the programme here: LINK

^[1] Excerpts from Kabarak Law Review, Vol 2 (2023), pp. 125-136.