Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has expressed concern over the low number of advocates taking the membership of Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

Chief executive Mercy Wambua said though they have a fully-fledged PIL department, only 1,200 lawyers are members.

“This is relatively a small number when you consider the LSK membership that has grown in leaps and bounds over the years,” she said.

LSK has more than 14,000 members. “The PIL department develops, engages in and co-ordinates public interest programmes on behalf of the society. The department engages advocates through our pro bono database,” she said.

Wambua said LSK Act mandates it to protect and assist the members of the public get justice in the name of public litigation.

“This is the statutory pillar upon which our public interest and pro bono programme is anchored,” she said during the Pro Bono /Public Interest Jurist of the Year 2019 on Tuesday night organised by LSK and Amnesty International, Kenya.

The event was also graced by Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua, who urged lawyers to do more in terms of public litigation. 

 “We have more to do today than we did yesterday. There are a lot of emerging issues… We must challenge ourselves if we are to realise the aims that we hoped for,” said Karua.