RETIRED HIGH COURT JUDGE OMONDI TUNYA DIES AFTER PROLONGED ILLNESS

Retired High Court Judge Godfrey Omondi Tunya has died after a prolonged illness, closing the chapter on the life and career of one of Kenya’s most recognizable judicial figures of the 1980s and 1990s.

Justice Tunya passed away on Sunday, July 5, 2026, at a Nairobi hospital, where he had been admitted over the weekend after his condition worsened.

Justice Tunya devoted more than three decades to Kenya’s Judiciary. He joined the bench in 1974 as a District Magistrate after graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree the previous year. His rise through the ranks was steady: Senior Resident Magistrate in 1982, Principal Magistrate in 1987, and Nairobi Chief Magistrate in 1990, before later being appointed a High Court Judge.

Justice Tunya became widely known during the one party era under President Daniel arap Moi, presiding over politically sensitive cases involving suspected members of the underground Mwakenya movement. Working alongside then prosecutor Bernard Chunga, he issued lengthy prison sentences in several high profile matters, cementing his reputation as one of the most prominent judicial officers of that period.

His career ended in October 2003 during the Judiciary’s “radical surgery,” a sweeping anti corruption purge led by Justice Aaron Ringera. Justice Tunya was among those named in the Integrity and Anti Corruption Committee report. He is reported to have opted for retirement with benefits rather than face a disciplinary tribunal — a decision that left the allegations against him untested and his exit marked by ambiguity, as the purge itself later drew criticism for its methods.

Justice Omondi Tunya leaves behind a complex legacy: decades of judicial service, a central role in politically charged cases, and an exit during one of the most dramatic reforms in Kenya’s judicial history.