Mary Muthoni Morrison joined the Basel Institute on Governance in March 2022 as a Court Monitor at the International Centre for Asset Recovery in Kenya. She left the Institute at the end of the contract on 31 March 2023.

She is an Advocate of the High Court in Kenya with a diverse background in environment and wildlife crime which enabled her experience in asset recovery.

Before joining the Basel Institute, Mary worked with Wildlife Direct Kenya in conducting and later managing the 'Eyes in the Courtroom' project with the Judicial Training Institute. As a result of this experience, she has an in-depth understanding of the criminal justice system in Kenya, particularly the courts. Mary has also worked and collaborated with Katiba Institute, an organisation that promotes knowledge and understanding of Kenya’s Constitution and defends it; the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW), a global alliance of attorneys, scientists, and other advocates collaborating across borders to build a sustainable, just future; and other civil society organisations as well as enforcement and judicial officers in Kenya.

In her six years’ of experience, Mary has been at the forefront in advocating for proper governance and promoting access to justice in areas of wildlife crime and the general environment. Additionally, she has contributed to two wildlife crime reports touching over 5,000 wildlife crime cases in Kenya; a report on evaluating and exploring pathways in the approaches to implementing environmental rights in the context of climate change and sustainable development in Africa; and a publication on illegal ivory trade under Thomson Reuters’ Comparative Environmental Law and Regulation Treatise.

Mary has an undergraduate degree in Law from the University of Nairobi and a postgraduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law. She is also a commissioner of oaths and licensed to practise in Kenya. Mary completed her Masters in Law at the University of Oregon.