The Law Society of Kenya Rift Valley Chapter has turned the heat on laymen who have been masquerading as lawyers and fleecing citizens.

In a rare crackdown, Chapter chairman, Gordon Ogolla and the secretary, Mr Mwangi Waiganjo, invited the Press to witness the closure of seven offices they said were being run by laymen after lawyers who had opened them shifted to other towns.

One of the offices shut down belonged to a lawyer who died several years ago.

Mr Ogolla said the LSK would not allow the reputation of lawyers to be tarnished by quacks. He told the Press that the crackdown was just the beginning of the war.

After complaints

The newly elected chairman has taken up the challenge to put things right to ensure those seeking legal services do not fall into the wrong hands.

Mr Ogolla says the Law Society was prompted to carry out the operation after complaints that people were being fleeced by imposters.

Mr Ogolla appealed to the LSK chairman, Mr Okong'o O'Mogeni, to spearhead the drive nationwide to weed out quacks.

A credible source confided to this writer that investigations were underway to establish the source of a document that had a forged magistrate's signature and whose source was said to be one of the offices that were ordered to shut down.

The source said that some of the blacklisted firms had pushed through some cases in the courts and even received judgments.

The Rift Valley chapter is also pursuing firms that were withholding their clients' money, which they had been awarded by courts.

'Some of these firms have been entangled in running conflicts with clients because of their failure to release their compensation awarded," a source said.

During an interview, Mr Ogolla said:"What we are telling the public is to ensure that their advocates law practitioners.'

Mr Ogolla said there were cases where people purporting to offer legal services had not been to the Kenya School of Law, which is a mandatory requirement.

After failing

Others, he said, could have been to the Kenya School of Law but they were disqualified after failing examinations.

It is at the Kenya School of Law where university law graduates get their legal skills honed.

The LSK warned fresh university law graduates, who are allegedly used by such firms to hold briefs for them in the courts, saying they risked messing up their careers.

According to him, the quacks are more widespread in Nairobi and other towns.

He suggested that it be made mandatory for advocates to present their certificates before the judicial officers when they file their cases in the courts.

This, he said, will help weed out the quacks.

"This thing has been there for many years, but no one has had the courage to talk about it openly. I can assure you that members have always raised this issue at every LSK meeting, but it is immediately forgotten," he said.

Rights activist

The public was full of praise for the council with some of them suggesting that the council should now turn the focus on its on members, who refused to refund clients' money.

Mr David Kuria a, human rights activist and a former court assessor, said that the crackdown was appropriate to ensure that only certified advocates served the public.

"I duly support this action by the LSK branch. Very many people have fallen into the trap of bogus lawyers without knowing it," Mr Kuria said.

Seven firms were closed down in the town by the LSK on May 12, after the expiry of a one week notice to show cause that they were operating legally.

The council maintained that firms had no advocate operating in the offices.

Apart from the closure of their firms, Mr Ogolla said that they resolved to block them from being served by the court registry after they held a meeting with resident judge, Martha Koome and other magistrates.

Mr Ogolla, who was accompanied by Mr Mwangi, said the firms targeted by the council had portrayed clear lack of knowledge in court procedures.

"The issues we are pursuing are of great concern and it is not about competition," he said.

Unethical conduct

However, Mr Kuria said the LSK should find better ways that would ensure that advocates who are involved in unethical conduct are duly punished.

Mr Ogolla revealed that about 10 advocates in the country have been suspended, fined or struck out of the roll of advocates because of unethical conduct, but added that quacks presented the biggest challenge.

The officials said LSK has a proper mechanism to discipline errant members, but regretted that there was little the institution could do to lock out the quacks, because they are not covered by their regulations.

However, the procedures are painfully slow and could take up to three years, Mr Ogolla suggested that this could be resolved if the disciplinary council was decentralised at the branch level.

He said this would make it accessible, cheaper and faster for the complainants who are currently forced to travel all the way to Nairobi lodge their complaints.