Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina has shared her struggles while starting out as a young advocate, a time when she used to survive on a single pair of shoes.

While speaking during the Ngema Feast in Murang’a on Saturday, November 1, 2025, where professionals, especially those from the legal field, were the majority in attendance, she used her example to highlight the plight of young legal practitioners and what they go through while trying to establish themselves in legal practice.

She shared how she used to have one pair of shoes that she wore to court sessions, saying it was so dilapidated that it had started making noises while entering courtrooms, often disrupting quiet sessions as she would walk in late.

“You know, I was a young lawyer prior to being elected, and I remember telling someone, Nilikuwa na kiatu pair moja tu. Young lawyers suffer, by the way. Hio kiatu ilikuwa imeisha heel. You know, when you’re going to the courtrooms and you’re in heels and you’re late, you can imagine the noise it used to make,” he said,

Plea to LSK

She called upon the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) to help address the hustle that young lawyers face in their rise in legal practice. She urged the LSK leadership to use public interest litigation funds (PIL) and give them to young lawyers instead of expecting them to work on a pro bono basis.

“Sometimes, at Milimani, there was a soldier who used to tell me, ‘Hey madam, hio kiatu inapiga kelele sana.’ Ilikuwa imeisha heel. What I mean is, I know there’s money for public interest litigation.”

“I know that because when I was doing pro bono legal work, there was an organisation that indicated to me they had funded LSK to the tune of Ksh 20 million. Do not allow young lawyers to suffer. If it’s a PIL fund, give it to young lawyers.”

She urged lawyers, while electing LSK leadership, to be considerate of whom they are voting for and to first ascertain whether they will be able to address the problems encountered by young litigants.

“LSK lawyers, when you’re voting, demand accountability. Sindio? Haiwezi kuwa young lawyers are struggling.”

Gachagua’s plea

It was during the same event that former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua praised Njeri Maina for coming out to support youths from the region who have been arrested during protests.

He also spoke about the kind of leaders the region has been producing, contrasting them with leaders from other regions such as Nyanza, saying that Mount Kenya leaders cannot be compared to Nyanza leaders.

He went on to ask the lawyers present to give him 40 lawyers as MPs in the next general election, saying that the region cannot continue being left behind due to poor leadership and a lack of competent legislators.