He has overcome adversity to excel where the privileged have foundered

Abdikadir Hussein Mohamed is not very tall, but what he lacks in height, he makes up in intellect and attitude. He is amiable, jovial and a keen listener. And he is as sharp a dresser as he is a lawyer.

The brisk walker wears formal suits most of the time, except on weekends and holidays when he dresses down to what he calls his “hip-hop” Muslim — kanzu and cap.

His carefully styled black curly hair hints at regular visits to the barbershop, but he wears neither bling nor heavy cologne.

The man who weighs in at 70 kilos enjoys his ugali and rice with boiled meat he calls mboiro; but you will not find him at the gym because he claims he has no weight to lose.

In fact, this lover of pasta and chapatis, says his inability to finish large plates of food “is not something that pleases” his highly educated wife Amina, an education specialist at Unicef’s Kenya country office in Nairobi.

“I have no particular dish. But I enjoy my ugali and rice. My wife complains I don’t eat very well,” he told Lifestyle in a candid, relaxed interview at the offices of Ahmednasir, Abdikadir & Co Advocates in Nairobi.

Juice and water

A devout Muslim from Rhamu village on the border between Kenya and Ethiopia, Mr Mohamed drinks only milk, orange juice and water.

The 38-year-old father of three boys between the ages of two and 12 likes travelling and reading law journals. Although he was raised along the crocodile-infested Daua River, swimming comes naturally to him.

Until he was elected to Parliament from Mandera Central in 2007, and fellow MPs elected him chairman of two parliamentary committees: Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs and Constitution Review, the lawyer-cum-politician was little known outside the law firm that he co-founded with his mentor Ahmednasir Abdullahi in 1996.

“I am not shy, but I don’t like drama so much. I enjoy business and office work as opposed to litigation. My colleague, Mr Abdullahi, is in charge of litigation, and I am in charge of corporate affairs at the firm. That explains why I seem to keep a low profile. Even in the PSC, I would be happy to have done my work quietly without drama, noise and ABCD.”

Academic credentials

He may not have weight to throw around, but his academic credentials speak volumes.

From a small village school about 80 km west of Mandera town, itself about 1,500 km northeast of Nairobi, Mr Mohamed made his academic way to Kenya’s top secondary school, top university, and one of the world’s leading law schools. He entered Harvard Law School in 2000, about 10 years after US President Barack Obama had left.

In admitting him on March 24, 2000, the institution’s Graduate and International Legal Studies director Anne-Marie Slaughter wrote: “It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Harvard Law School LL.M. degree class 2000-2001.

It is an even greater pleasure to advise you that, from the many outstanding applications that we received, yours was one of a select group that most impressed the Committee on Graduate Studies.

“Your excellent academic record speaks for itself. The committee was equally impressed by the courage and determination you have shown in overcoming personal hardships and institutional obstacles; your track record as a practitioner in an influential law firm; your record of engagement in human rights education and in professional activities through the Kenya Law Society;

the thoughtful way in which you discuss your experiences, legal interests and career plans; and the depth of your commitment to help find practical ways of alleviating the poverty of your home province . . . In recognition of your accomplishments, you have been named one of Harvard Law School’s Landon H. Gammon Fellows for the 2000-2001 academic year."