Linus Kaikai: My journey to the Bar, meeting Mandela and the weight of public interest

For the Editorial Director at Royal Media Services, the oath-taking signified decades of silent ambition, childhood dream, and a career spent watching history unfold from the front row.

He describes the experience as “overwhelming,” a mix of internal reflection and unexpected public affirmation.

“I really appreciate the comments and messages I have seen. The support has been immense, and I want to thank everyone for the goodwill they have extended in this journey to becoming an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya,”he says.

For Kaikai, law was not a new path, but the original one.

“Law was always at the back of my mind. It was my first career choice after high school. But journalism came first. It opened before law did, and I took the opportunity though I always knew I would pursue law later in life,” he recalls.

That certainty was not born in a newsroom or courtroom, but a remote village in Kilgoris, where his parents, though unschooled, believed fervently in education.

“My parents never set foot in a classroom, but they valued education deeply. They housed teachers, they literally lived with us. We had a three-bedroom home, and two of those rooms were for teachers. Even though my parents couldn’t interpret much, they appreciated good performance. Their message was simple: go, do well, and embrace education,’ he shares.

Kaikai’s career, spanning more than two decades has placed him at the heart of Africa’s biggest political and geopolitical shifts.

“In 26 years in the media, you interact with people from every sector.You build a network because of the nature of the job. Some become colleagues, others become friends. It’s a privilege,” he says.

From war coverage to regional diplomacy and Kenya’s political cycles, he has witnessed history as an observer documenting its truth.

But nothing, he says, matches the moment he met late South Africa President Nelson Mandela, which was “spiritual and breathtaking.” 

“He was a hero I knew only from what was reported on the newspaper, meeting him was never even in the margins of my dreams,’ he says.

The encounter unfolded after Kaikai won the CNN Africa Journalist of the Year Award, earning him a trip to South Africa, his first journey outside Kenya. He later won the award a second time for exposing the attempted grabbing of Karura Forest by powerful KANU officials.

“I was offered a job by the South African Broadcasting Corporation during the awards, and I accepted it,” he recalls. “One of my first assignments was covering the Burundi peace process, where South Africa was mediating the end of the civil war and the mediator was Nelson Mandela. That was the first time I met him,” he recalled.

Despite new legal credentials, Kaikai sees no contradiction between journalism and the law. To him, both professions hinge on accountability.

“My career in journalism, and now my study of law, only increases the pressure to serve the public interest. Kenya is a country of good people and enormous possibility. But it frustrates me to see how often we come so close, only to fall short because of leadership,” he notes.