From teacher to lawyer: Danstan Omari's inspiring career switch at 40 years

Nairobi lawyer Danstan Omari has made headlines recently.

He was spotted in court representing Samson Talam, the Nairobi Central Police Station OCS, in the Albert Ojwang' police brutality case.

Danstan has become a familiar face in the media because of taking up many complex cases that receive media coverage. 

In Kenya, high-profile litigation is usually a preserve of a few experienced, renowned advocates and senior counsels, but Omari’s entry into the legal world is one to watch, having pivoted from a career in education.

In a past interview, the lawyer said he began studying law at 40 years old, after leaving his job in his prime as a senior high school teacher.

Omari’s second act is not the first time he has had to make a tough decision to alter his destiny.

After not performing well in primary and consequently secondary school, he decided to repeat Form Three and Form Four to increase his chances of succeeding in life.

“I went back to Form Three in a school called Kiabonyoru High School. This is where I met former CS Fred Matiang'i. I did my Form Four, and I scored a division two. My admission letter disappeared when I was supposed to join Kangema High School for Form Five and Six,” he recalled.

With the help of his brother, Omari joined another school for his A-levels (Form Five & Six), where he encountered yet another setback, where was called to pursue a teaching course at Kenyatta University, despite wanting to do law.

“There was a facility called inter-university transfers. So we went to the University of Nairobi to apply for Law, but they rejected it. I told my brother repeating is part of my game. I wanted to repeat Form Six, but he refused,” he said.

Omari then accepted his fate and became a teacher. After experiencing many challenges in the education sector, he made a decision to pursue law in 2004.

 From Education to Law

At the time, he had a few investments but none could fully cater for the hefty fees at The University of Nairobi Law School.

“I went back to Mwalimu Sacco and took a loan and paid all my fees for the entire year. All my resources were finished,” he said. 

After exhausting his finances, the burden fell on his wife to pay for his school fees. 

At the time, he also landed a teaching job in Kirinyaga, but his plea to get a transfer to Nairobi fell on deaf ears.

This meant commuting from Nairobi to Kirinyaga for his day job and making time to study law until he eventually graduated in 2008.

“In January 2009, I enrolled in the Kenya School of Law, which is further at Karen. So I still drove to Kirinyaga,” he said. 

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Around June of the same year, the University of Nairobi advertised for master's programmes, and he applied.

He juggled his teaching job and his classes until he completed his education at KSL. 

Omari was finally admitted to the bar as an advocate in November 2011 and graduated with a Masters's Degree in Law in December of that same year.