Athi is currently completing his LLM in Commercial Law at the University of Cape Town, having graduated with an LLB from the University of the Western Cape.

Most recently, he was involved with the Democratic Governance and Rights Unit (DGRU), an applied research unit under the Department of Public Law at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he contributed to comparative legal research projects across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. He worked on judicial and anti-corruption related reporting and research initiatives, assisted with regional judicial projects, and drafted legal opinions for judges both domestically and abroad.

He has also worked as a parliamentary report writer for the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG), documenting and analysing parliamentary committee proceedings to support public access to democratic processes and institutional accountability.

Outside of work, he enjoys poetry, engaging with philosophy, community outreach and running.