It’s All Systems Go for LSK Elections

Members of the Law Society of Kenya will on February 29, 2024, decide who will steer their society for the next two years in a hotly contested poll.

The Presidency of LSK has attracted five advocates who include Carolyne Kamende, Faith Odhiambo, Harriet Mboce, Kipkoech Bernard Ngetich, and Peter Wanyama.

All contestants have sold their manifesto to the electorate and February 27, marked the last day for campaigns.

Now, with bated breaths, they await to know their fate once the advocates vote for one of them to be the President of the LSK.

At the steps of the Milimani Courts, Wanyama, who has for a long time been evasive of the media, made an appearance, flanked by his supporters including the outspoken advocate, Danstan Omari, and asked for support.

Among his key promises to the advocates is the reform of the society which he said has for a long time been suffering from mistrust coming from claims of misappropriation of funds from as far as a decade ago.

Also, he vowed to ensure stricter measures are set to protect Kenyans from the companies that emit toxic waste and gases into the atmosphere.

“The Law Society of Kenya will be responsible for the people who yesterday went to the ,media and complained severely that the government of Kenya, the county government of Mombasa, and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is doing nothing to protect the residents from toxic gas emissions,” he said.

Wanyama said that if elected to the helm of the LSK, he will utilize resources in the legal profession to ensure that they protect the interest of Kenyans.

“We will immediately file a public interest case at the Land and Environment Court in Mombasa. We will liaise with the Mombasa LSK to ensure we protect the rights to a clean environment,” he said.

The advocate, who has been in the law profession for the last 16 years said that as the President of the LSK, he will protect Kenyans’ sovereignty and ensure that taxes are not increased at the whims of the Executive.

Wanyama also touched on the issue of independence of the judiciary which has in the recent past been shaken by the Executive, led by President William Ruto, who has been on the record, saying he will willingly choose to disobey court orders that do not favor his government’s manifesto.

“The independence of the judiciary is very important. To address the challenges we are facing now, the LSK will protect Chief Justice Martha Koome who is being forced to bend court systems to listen to the impulses of the Executive,” he said.

For Harriet Mboce, her vision for the society has been subdivided into six major components.

She wants to improve the members’ welfare, protect the rights and interests of advocates, improve the practicing environment, empower all advocates, check on the excesses of the government, and devolving more resources to the LSK branches across the country.

During her campaigns, she has been riding on the theme of independence of the judiciary and a brave bar that will spring into action for the good of Kenyans.

“My vision for our Society is molded from our shared aspiration for a strong bar that is characterized by safe, secure, and sustainable practice,” she said.

Interestingly, Ms Odhiambo and Ms Kamende have served as the 50th and 49th vice presidents of the LSK respectively, and are now seeking to fill the bigger boot of the presidency.

A fact that their competitors, including Wanyama, say should be used to not vote for them since they have already been tried and tested and should leave the space for “fresh” blood.

Kamende believes that her candidature comes at a time when the LSK is “besieged on every side”

“On one side there is hostility from a State that does not countenance dissent and on the other side, there is a judiciary that is willing to throw the bar under the bus if it is expedient,” she said at the close of her campaigns.

To rectify these imbalances, the advocates have one simple task, to vote her into power at LSK, she said.

Odhiambo on the other hand, says she is the key to a stable, predictable, less dramatic, and coherent leadership that will ensure efficient service delivery and stand firm for the rule of law.

“A vote for Faith is a vote to check the breach of court orders and the weaponization of state machinery. This election is a chance for advocates to demonstrate their power to protect human rights, constitutionalism, and the rule of law,” she said.

On his part, Mr Kipkoech promises to revisit the land registry, engage the government through the Attorney General to respect court orders, and advocate in private practice to be engaged by the public sector and be paid.

“Courts should work for Kenyans and be accountable and justice delivered expeditiously. The judicial calendar on training be married to court and shared with judicial officers and court users in advance,” he said.