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Lawyers in the country now want stiff penalties against quacks who have been preying on unsuspecting members of the public.

The legal practitioners who decried the surge in the number of unlicensed people acting as lawyers regretted that the masqueraders have been approaching vulnerable clients to offer them legal counsel on various matters in court only to swindle them millions following which they vanish.

Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Nairobi Chapter representatives Daniel Gachau and Stephen Mbugua noted with concern that some of the bogus lawyers have been impersonating certified advocates during court proceedings while others specialize in offering all manner of services including drafting property sale agreements and mediating succession matters.

Among persons found to be illegally offering legal services are former clerks for certified lawyers, law school dropouts and some civil servants who are well-versed with legal matters.

illustrous career

Speaking during celebrations to mark 50 years of illustrious career for Karuga Wandai, a long-serving counsel who was admitted to the bar in 1973, the lawyers called for concerted efforts to root out the criminals whom they fingered for not only soiling their profession but also engaging in economic crimes.

Having received numerous complaints from members of the public about the persons masquerading as advocates, the LSK representatives revealed that countrywide crackdowns for any lawyer operating without the requisite certification have begun.

Already, the officials told journalists that several quacks have been arrested and arraigned in courts across the country as LSK steps up the crackdown with support from the National Police Service and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

“We owe a duty to the members of the public we serve to tell them who is a lawyer and who is not. Quacks have been in existence but these are different times. It is up to us to take up and protect our space and we are not afraid of pulling them out, publicizing them and letting the law take its course when they are arrested and taken before court,” said Gachau, the LSK chairperson, Nairobi Chapter.