With dad as mentor, Cindy Kamau is on course to hold brief

The saying “like father like daughter” is literal for Cindy Kamau, who is scaling the heights of student leadership abroad but whose heart is firmly in Kenya, raring to take after her father as a fiery activist.

Kamau, 25, is serving a one-year term as alumni director of the Black Law Students Association at the Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Ontario, Canada.

She was elected in March 2024. The Star interviewed her in Nairobi, where she is visiting her family before flying back to sit her final law exam in April.

The test would qualify her to sit for the Ontario bar exam in June on her path to be licensed to practice law in the Canadian state.

Reflecting on her leadership in the multicultural and multiracial environment, Kamau thinks her passion for justice is inborn, perhaps learnt from her father’s daring advocacy for human rights.

Her father, Kamau Ngugi, is the executive director of the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders. Also known as the Defenders Coalition, the lobby, formed in 2007, advocates for the welfare and safety of human rights activists.

From women rights, indigenous people’s rights, sexual minority rights and anything in between, Defenders Coalition has had an impactful run in championing fundamental rights in the country, empowering grassroot activists to safely stand up for their communities.

Kamau wants to succeed her father in advocating for underserved communities, using her knowledge of law and exposure in a multicultural environment as the plank.

“I love Kenya very much and I know our people deserve better Kenyans are very hardworking, smart and can get everything done, but there are systemic issues that draw them back. I’m sure that just as my father, I’ll get time to make my contribution in amplifying the voice of the disadvantaged,” she said during the interview.

The Osgoode Hall Law School has notable alumni in Kenya, including former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and quarrelsome political activist Miguna Miguna.

The juris doctor (a three-year professional degree taken by students who already have a bachelor’s degree) candidate previously served as co-president of the Osgoode International Law Society.

Prior to joining law school, Kamau, who first went to Canada in 2016, obtained an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto in Ontario.

She studied arts, specialising in political science and majoring in African studies and graduated in 2021.

Her leadership and political acumen got sharpened there, while advocating for increased administrative support for black students.

Other black students noted her efforts, electing her president, representing over 2,500 students across the institution’s three campuses.

As alumni director, her proudest achievements are organising meetings to enable students to connect with school alumni to chart the dynamics of practising law in Canada and in the neighbouring US.

Kamau later specialised in tax and international law, to enable her to inform public policy and the distribution of national resources, which she is passionate about.