Olubunmi Tunji Sowande was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1912 to Emmanuel Sowande, an Anglican priest and pioneer of church music, and grew up in a deeply musical family; his brother Fela Sowande became one of Nigeria's most celebrated composers.
Sowande travelled to Britain in 1945 and studied law at King's College London, passing his Bar Finals at Lincoln's Inn and being called to the Bar in 1952, at a time when prestigious chambers openly operated a colour bar against Black barristers.
Despite the prejudice of the era, Sowande was offered a full tenancy at 3 King's Bench Walk chambers, where he specialised in criminal law and rose to become Head of Chambers in 1968, the first Black barrister to lead a major set in Britain.
In 1978 Sowande was appointed Deputy Circuit Judge, sitting at Snaresbrook and later at courts including Croydon and Inner London, making him Britain's first Black judge, a milestone later dramatised in Tayo Aluko's play Just an Ordinary Lawyer.
Sowande sustained a parallel life as a professional baritone throughout his legal career, performing classical, jazz and choral music across Britain; he retired from the bench in the late 1980s and died in 1996 at the age of 84.
His life bridged two demanding vocations, the law and music, at a time when Britain offered Black professionals little foothold in either.
Tunji Sowande's appointment as Britain's first Black judge in 1978 marked a genuine institutional milestone in a legal profession that had long excluded Black barristers from its senior ranks, and his story continues to be told through Tayo Aluko's acclaimed stage play.
- 1912Born in Lagos, Nigeria.
- 1945Travels to Britain to study law.
- 1952Called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn.
- 1968Becomes Head of Chambers at 3 King’s Bench Walk, the first Black barrister to lead a major set.
- 1978Appointed Deputy Circuit Judge, becoming Britain’s first Black judge.
- 1996Dies aged 84.
- ★ Britain's first Black judge, appointed 1978
- ★ First Black Head of Chambers at a major barristers' set, 1968
- ★ Sustained a parallel career as a professional concert baritone
- ★ Bencher of the Inner Temple, 1986
- ★ Subject of the acclaimed stage play Just an Ordinary Lawyer