Sharad Rao: Government Insider and Jurist Who Helped Midwife Modern Kenya

By Miriam Nyandika

Sharad Rao is an eminent Kenyan jurist, author, and public servant whose life and career serve as a remarkable front-row seat to the making of modern Kenya. Born in 1935 to Indian immigrant parents, Rao grew up in the strictly segregated social tiers of 1930s colonial Nairobi. This early exposure to institutional inequality is among the issues that anchored decision to study law in Great Britain, returning home as a qualified advocate just as the tides of African nationalism and the Mau Mau rebellion were beginning to dismantle the British colonial state.

Trained as a Barrister at London’s Lincoln’s Inn before practicing as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, Rao served as a key deputy to the country’s iconic first Attorney General, Charles Mugane Njonjo. He is from a rare, passing generation of Kenyans whose professional lives are tied to the construction of the post-independence Kenya.

In his compelling autobiography, From Jomo to Uhuru: Rao’s Nine Lives, Rao reflects on a lifetime inside Kenya’s legal, political, and geopolitical evolution across four presidential administrations. What makes Rao’s voice unique is his dual role as both an insider to power and an unflinching truth-teller who skillfully bridges the gap between historical events and raw personal experiences.

Rao shines a spotlight on the overlooked contributions of the Kenyan-Asian community during the struggle for Uhuru (independence) and nationbuilding. He documents the cross-communal solidarity that fueled the liberation movement, charting everything from the radical activism of Makhan Singh to the high-stakes bravery of Asian lawyers like Achroo Kapila and Fitz DeSouza, who risked their safety to defend Jomo Kenyatta and the “Kapenguria Six.

Following independence in 1963, Rao was instrumental in systematically “Kenyanizing” the legal sector, replacing colonial-era British officials with qualified local professionals. As Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), he navigated intense executive succession politics during the transition from Jomo Kenyatta to Daniel arap Moi, bearing witness to high-profile political downfalls and the country’s complex slide into executive authoritarianism.

Rao’s career has also extended beyond Kenya’s borders. His autobiography details fascinating diplomatic flashpoints, offering firsthand reflections on the fallout of the 1976 Entebbe Raid in neighboring Uganda, his appointment to the Iran-US Claims Tribunal at The Hague, and the frosty, suspicious Cold War standoffs between Nairobi and Beijing in the late 1970s and ’80s that shaped the building of the iconic Kasarani Sports Stadium.

His work gives Kenyans profound, practical lessons on leadership, perseverance, and the essence of public service.

The writer is a research assistant at Free Press Publishers.