Introduction: A Journey into Social Justice Law
Milka Wahu is a distinguished human rights attorney and legal scholar and the Founder and Executive Director of AMKA Africa Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to mentoring young lawyers and advancing access to justice for marginalized communities in Kenya. Milka also lectures at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology’s School of Law, specializing in family law, human rights, and constitutional litigation with a focus on the rights of minority and marginalized persons.
With over 15 years of experience in social justice advocacy, Milka’s work bridges grassroots empowerment, strategic public interest litigation, and collaboration with university legal clinics to cultivate a new generation of socially conscious legal professionals. She was admitted to the Kenya bar in 2009 and holds a Master of Laws degree in Human Rights and Constitutional Law from the University of Dar es Salaam and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi.
Milka’s journey into law was inspired early on by John Grisham’s novel The Street Lawyer, which introduced her to law as a practical tool for social change. Reflecting on this formative influence, she said, “Access to justice can be abstract, but this book showed me lawyers producing concrete change: people getting something they would not have otherwise because someone applied the law for them.”
Mentorship: Finding Purpose and Ethical Practice
At AMKA Africa, which she co-founded and leads, Milka channels this ethos into mentoring young lawyers, focusing especially on those in their first five years of practice. AMKA’s mission is to deepen young lawyers’ understanding of systemic social justice issues and equip them with the practical tools and empathy to leverage law for societal transformation.
“Amka is built on ethical legal practice, partnership, transparency, accountability, and an empathetic practice of law,” she emphasizes. This empathetic approach prioritizes holistic client understanding beyond mere legal statutes. She gives the example of marginalized groups like transgender or intersex persons facing bureaucratic hurdles that the law alone may overlook. Such nuance can influence more just outcomes in court.
On mentorship, Milka urges young lawyers to begin with self-discovery: “First, find yourself. Ask: What do you want to do, and why do you want to do it?” For her, mentorship guides mentees not just to legal knowledge, but toward social justice careers that meaningfully challenge structural inequities.
Public Interest Litigation: Strategic Impact for Systemic Change
AMKA Africa also pursues strategic public interest litigation as essential to systemic change. Milka highlights landmark wins such as the first successful case enabling a transgender organisation’s official registration and reforms in gender markers on school documents. She explains, “Some structural injustices cannot be fixed one case at a time because litigation is expensive… strategic litigation magnifies impact.”
Kenya’s litigious environment, with many public interest lawsuits driving reforms, serves as a model for other African countries. Milka notes, “When policy reform through parliament is difficult… courts become the avenue for redress. This litigiousness and willingness to use courts as a check on government is something others might learn from.”
Legal Consciousness: Bridging Law and Society
She also discusses legal consciousness, the awareness and understanding people have of law’s role and relevance in their lives. “Sometimes ‘law’ is not only what’s written on paper… it’s shaped by lived realities and social relations that law may not address,” she says.
Throughout, Milka’s reflections reveal the intertwined nature of mentorship and public interest litigation. Mentorship nurtures a cadre of socially conscious lawyers equipped to pursue transformative litigation that challenges exclusions and defends marginalized voices. This holistic cycle generates the legal empowerment needed in deeply unequal societies.
She shares a hopeful vision: “With the right tools, mentors, and platforms, African lawyers can drive justice not just through court victories but by changing how law relates to society—making it accessible, relevant, and equitable for all.”
Conclusion: A Call to Rise
Milka Wahu’s leadership at AMKA Africa reflects a pivotal movement toward a more just and inclusive legal landscape in Kenya and Africa broadly. She encourages emerging lawyers to embrace mentorship as a path to discover their purpose and harness public interest litigation to effect systemic change. In her words, “Amka—arise—is not just a name; it’s a mandate for Africa to rise through justice.”
This is a highlight of her insights on legal mentorship, public interest litigation, and social justice advocacy in Kenya as captured in her recent conversation with Jean-Aristid Banyurwahe, a Law Student at the University of Bayreuth and a student assistant at the Chair of African Legal Studies, and published on the African Legal Studies website. Milka was at Bayreuth for Law and Belonging as a Relational Practice, a conference celebrating five years of the Chair of African Legal Studies.
