When Zayn Aslam first thought about studying law, he wasn’t entirely convinced it was the right path. In fact, law wasn’t even his first choice. He explored other interests such as piloting, journalism, and spent much of his early academic life unsure of what truly called to him. “I was bad, very bad academically before my O Levels,” he says, without any hint of pretence. Grades never quite moved him; curiosity did. It wasn’t a single moment, but rather a series of almost incidental decisions – choosing to do A Levels, picking law as a subject because his brother, Aasim Aslam, had studied it – that nudged him in a direction he hadn’t expected. Initially, Strathmore Law School was meant to be a brief academic stopover. A place to test whether law could fit. And with Aasim already enrolled at the law school a year before him, it seemed to be the obvious testing ground.

But staying? That was different. That choice came later and it was informed by a variety of chance meets, gentle nudges, and the slow but steady realization that he was becoming someone from whom he didn’t want to walk away. Among these factors of influence was his mentor, Allan Mukuki, who almost immediately took Zayn under his wing. At that point in time, the insightful conversation during their weekly walks at Karura, became quite an anchor to keep him around. He recalls that  “meeting Allan was a defining moment that shaped my legal career.” The mentorship blossomed into friendship, and shared interests in refugee law and a growing passion to speak up for displaced communities. Around the same time, Zayn joined the Strathmore Law Review, one of the continent’s premier, consistent, student-run, peer-reviewed law journals. There, he found people who cared deeply about ideas, dialogue, and each other. He found a community. A sense of place. A family with whom staying around felt right. And once he found it, leaving didn’t feel like an option anymore.

Turning Tragedy Into Motivation

When Zayn first arrived at Strathmore, life was just beginning to unfold. Fresh from completing his A-levels, he had moved to Nairobi full of hope and ambition. But almost as soon as he began to settle, life dealt a devastating blow: his mother fell ill, and passed away almost as suddenly. “It was a tough time,” he reflects. “I had just moved to Nairobi, trying to figure things out, and then suddenly, we were in the middle of this tragedy.” His father and sister soon relocated to Nairobi to be with Zayn and his brother. This family would become Zayn’s source of strength.

In the midst of grief, Zayn turned to work. Perhaps it was a way of coping. An attempt to bring order to what had become an unpredictable world. It was during this time that he found himself drawn deeply into the world of legal writing and policy research, fields that demanded discipline, patience, and long hours of focused solitude. He joined the Law Review, the Strathmore Law Clinic, and the Student Council. “I loved the difficulty of research,” he says. “Sitting in the library for hours, chasing the right case or article to back up a claim.” After his first year, he interned at Anjarwalla & Khanna (ALN) Kenya, one of the country’s leading corporate law firms. “It was my first real experience of what corporate law felt like. You had to show up sharp. It shaped how I think professionally.” In all of this, he found direction and moments of peace, pockets of stillness in which the loss of his mother briefly receded.

This work ethic did not wane. At the Law Review, he rose to become Managing Editor, a role he held alongside two of his closest friends, Mark and Peter. At the Law Clinic, he became Editorial Director and helped spearhead passion projects such as the Monthly Legal Digest. He became a research intern at the Strathmore Dispute Resolution Centre, joined the Centre for Intellectual Property (IP) and Information Technology (IT), and continues to serve as an Associate Editor of the Journal of IP and IT Law. Alongside these commitments, Zayn served as a research assistant to Allan, with whom he worked on consultancy projects for institutions of repute. Their working relationship deepened over time. More recently, Allan invited Zayn to be the Research Coordinator at the newly formed Forced Migration and Displacement Research Hub, where Allan is the Director. During his semester breaks, Zayn would return to Anjarwalla & Khanna and its Rule of Law charity, ALN Academy for further internships.

Each role brought new perspectives, new skills, and new reasons to keep going. “As Managing Editor,” he reflects (for instance), “you’re leading people who might be going through things you’ll never see. You have to lead with empathy, not just efficiency. Behind every decision, you ask: how will this affect the people involved?”

When asked where his motivation comes from, Zayn is quick to credit and speak in reverence for the people around him, like Allan, Mark, and Peter, brilliant, driven individuals who push him to be better.

But ultimately, he says, it’s his parents who shaped him most. Neither of them came from privilege. His father grew up in a rural town, selling sweets and food on the street for his daily meal. Zayn’s mother was orphaned as a toddler and raised in a home where corporal punishment was the norm.

“They gave me everything they never had,” he says. “I didn’t, and don’t, have the luxury of wasting that. I had to live up to what they taught me.”

Zayn is acutely aware of the privilege with which he has grown up. An opportunity many would fight for, and he sees it not as a cushion but a responsibility. To waste it would be contrary to what his parents taught him, so he works hard, knowing he owes it to those who never got the chance. From his mother and father, he inherited not just a sense of duty, but values. “They taught me to be honest. To be content. And to be good to people. I carry that with me, every single day.”

Zayn says much of his growth comes from experiences outside the classroom. “To be honest, I never found law school that hard,” he says with a smile. “Most of my learning happens outside lectures, through research, writing, and internships.”

When asked how he balances everything, classes, editing, research, advocacy, Zayn gives an answer he considers a simple answer: mindset. “Say yes to everything at the beginning. Try everything. Eventually, you’ll learn when to say no.”

He continued as he shared some advice he lives by  “Dress well. Be presentable. Show up. The way you carry yourself can open doors long before your CV does.”

Looking Ahead

As he prepares to graduate, Zayn is clear-eyed about the future. In five years, he hopes to be an Associate at Anjarwalla & Khanna, the firm where his legal journey began. At the same time, he hopes to continue working with the Forced Migration Hub at Strathmore Law School alongside Allan Mukuki.

But there’s more to his dream than titles and roles. He also wants to launch a foundation in his mother’s name, dedicated to supporting orphaned children. “I want to honour her by helping others like her.”

The Strathmore value that speaks to him most is freedom and responsibility.  “You have to use your freedom responsibly,” he says. “We won’t be on this earth for long. People remember how you made them feel, how you touched their lives. And so, if you are going to use your freedom, use it to make a difference”

If he has one regret, it’s holding back in the early years.  “I only really started making friends in third year. Healing and opening up helped me thrive. My mum’s death hit me harder than I thought, but I got through it, and I grew.”

Now counting down to graduation, Zayn stands out as one of our students who truly cares about making a difference in someone’s life!

Article written by Evans Ijakaa