Faith Odhiambo outlines her vision in bid to succeed LSK President Eric Theuri
Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Vice President Faith Odhiambo has hit the road in a race to succeed Eric Theuri as the next President in the February 2024 polls.
Odhiambo, who is gunning to be its next President, believes that a wrong approach has been taken by agitators in pushing for gender equity, and particularly, the enactment of the two-third gender rule.
Odhiambo, who started off as a council member under the Presidency of Nelson Havi and got elected vice president in the current term whose life is in the waning days, says that she is in the race to sustain the stability of society.
“The society is effective when we are cohesive, united and stable because by that we attract and assure development partners and supporters and is able to achieve significant results in the interest of the members and the public,” Odhiambo says.
She adds that under her leadership, fearlessness with a huge dosage of pragmatism will be the cornerstone of society.
“We will call out the duty bearers in the executives and the judiciary without fear, favour, or prejudice and also work with them in a pragmatic fashion in the interest of the public and the members,” the LSK Vice President adds.
Kenya Kwanza administration a letdown to women
According to the LSK Vice President, the current government regime (Kenya Kwanza administration) is a huge letdown to women's leadership and achieving gender parity, adding that during campaigns, the current government promised to configure a formula for ensuring two-thirds gender rule gets implemented, but the appointments of Cabinet members and state officers tells a different story.
“We have been served some good on rhetoric but left in the cold on depth and action. I’m alive to the fact that the gender question here is not just a woman issue. For instance, look at the recent ambassadorial and diplomatic nominations of recent, do you see seriousness in attaining some form of gender fairness? I don’t, and we must call this out,” she says.
She goes on: “We must not wait on some lofty law to be enacted; good-intentioned people could just start by using the latitudes they have to implement some of them. Cabinet appointment, parastatal heads, ambassadorial postings, are just some of the countless avenues the administration has to demonstrate seriousness through.”
On matters rule of law, Odhiambo was categorical that the current Kenya Kwanza regime is not doing well with regard to the rule of law and administration of justice.
She says that the current regime started on an excellent note by asserting the rule of law as an anchor for its tenure, putting a stop to the use of police in politics and extrajudicial killing, among others, and supporting the independence of the Judiciary unconditionally.
“This is not the case. We have seen, with much consternation, the president and his political friends and higher-ups in government use unacceptable language against judges and intimidating litigants who are using the justice system to rightly seek to have their grievance addressed,” she adds.
“We have seen how police responded to protests, a fundamental human right, with heavy-handedness and using unreasonable force against unarmed civilians. Instead of assuring everyone of the rule of law, the president defended the police in the face of irrefutable evidence of abuse.”
Aware that LSK is not in the opposition nor allied to Kenya Kwanza administration, Odhiambo promised that should she be elected in the February 2024 polls, she will speak out robustly against any infraction of the law, and mobilize similar-minded actors in the civil society towards calling out the regime.
In her quest to succeed Theuri, Odhiambo observes that under her leadership she will wear a track record of society as the fearless defender of the rule of law and the powerless in society.
She promised that she would invest in broadening partnerships that create spaces for young legal talent incubation, holding their hands through mentorship as well as networking to enable them to start off fairly well.
