A detention order had been signed against Paul Muite in 1990 after his colleague in the struggle Gibson Kamau Kuria was assisted by the US Embassy to leave the country for exile in the USA. But Muite insisted on staying back to continue with the fight from the home front.

In one of the paradoxes of the day, Police out to arrest him searched all of his friends homes in assumption that he would be in hiding. But it did not occur to them that he never left his Karen residence and was actually waiting, knowing that he would picked any time for detention.

Inevitably, the pressure was too much for the Moi government and order was soon overtaken by events.

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It was Muite who insisted that the planned first Saba Saba in 1990, continue, even after then perceived leader of change Minister Kenneth Matiba had announced cancellation of the rally over fear of state retribution.

Nonetheless, Matiba was arrested together with Charles Rubia and detained. But Muite rallied pro democracy supporters to defy the state order banning the meeting and go ahead as planned to the Kamukunji grounds. His argument was that "If you defy a dictator many times, you eventually break them".

Although that first rally at Kamukunji was broken through a brutal Police intervention, it set the stage for the follow up meeting in 1991 whose overwhelming success placed the country on the road to democracy.

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Paul Muite was the lawyer for a Matatu driver involved in a road accident with one of then President Moi's security vehicles at the Museum roundabout in 1986 which was caused by the presidential car driving on the wrong side of the road.

Muite successfully argued the case and won what is still a landmark case in Kenyan history.

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Paul Muite did not attend law school but earned his law degree by correspondence through Oxford University and rose to become one of the country's best lawyers. He did his internship in 1969 at Waruhiu and Waruhiu advocates who were acting for Nahashon Isaac Njenga - accused of the killing of Tom Mboya.

Veteran lawyer the late Samuel Waruhiu was the leading advocate with then young Muite serving as his assistant in the case.

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Contrary to popular belief, Muite and the former powerful AG Charles Njonjo were not always the best of friends but have learnt to tolerate one another as people from the same constituency and colleagues in the legal profession.

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It was Muite who lobbied the lifting of the ban on Mau Mau movement which had been announced by the Colonial government in 1952 but remained in place through the Kenyatta and Moi regimes.

All started after Muite attended the homecoming of then Kieni MP and Minister for Internal Security Chris Murungaru in 2003 when he recognized former Mau Mau fighter General Chui among the crowd at the ceremony.

On seeing the pathetic condition of the freedom fighter, Muite was clearly moved and told Murungaru and Justice Minister Kiraitu Murungi that the whole movement for change would have no meaning if the Mau Mau ban was still in place.

They discussed the issue at length and Murungaru agreed to issue a gazette notice lifting the ban by the British Colonial government.

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Muite once conspired with a police officer at Nyayo torture chambers to smuggle food to starving detainees in the chambers.

He would buy snacks and the sympathetic guard would smuggle the food strapped on the inside of his bell bottomed trousers and this helped many survive the agony of the dreaded torture chambers.

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Paul Muite was a founder member of the Ford Kenya party - the country's first political party after the repeal of section 2A and was a close confidante for the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. And that Jaramogi had wanted Muite to be his successor as leader of the party.