The first time Sister Leonida Katunge stepped into court, she was very nervous. She was used to addressing a crowd as a lecturer in her other life, but the classroom and court were two different worlds.
Her mind raced. She asked herself, “Who is listening to me? Am I able to say the right things? Does my language capture what I want to say?”
She was admitted to the bar on February 13, only the third nun in Kenya to venture into uncharted territory. She began practicing the same month, with a focus on conveyancing and family matters.
The weight of expectation weighed heavily on her shoulders. She had to understand the law, to represent her clients the best she could and bear with the fact that there are different interpretations.
“Someone has given a case to you. They have trusted you,” she told the Star in an interview yesterday.
Trust is something she takes very seriously. She had an epiphany when tasked with getting a title deed for her institute, Sisters of St Joseph of Mombasa. It was a long and bureaucratic process. She realized the ignorant can easily be taken advantage of.
“My first client was a magistrate. It was terrifying. Conveyancing deals with land, so you have to stamp a document for a client. You don’t know if you are putting the stamp in the right place,” Sr Katunge said.
The moments of doubt are long in the past. More and more people trust her with their cases. She works pro bono (free) for clients who cannot afford legal fees, but otherwise charges the standard rate.
The cases she handles are sensitive, so she did not disclose her clients, but her biggest case so far is the blockbuster divorce between Meru Senator Mithika Linturi and Marianne Kitany. Coming from the humility of sisterly work, she will find herself in the limelight as part of Marianne’s legal team.
“Tomorrow [today] I’m going to cross-examine Marriane,” she said, admitting she was still grappling with her line of questioning.
Her main challenge so far has been balancing interests. She is a nun, an advocate and a lecturer.
“Balancing your life is very important. Like now someone was asking me why I’m not talking of the rosary. So you have to balance,” she said.
Sr Katunge became a nun because it is a calling. She encouraged other sisters to come forward if they feel they can become advocates, saying the church needs lawyers, too.
And yesterday at 10.30 am a team of four defence lawyers walked into courtroom number 201 for hearing of Marianne Kitany divorce case.
This time though, they were with a nun in grey dress complete with a matching habit, handbag and flat shoes.
They took their rightful place at the front bench.
The nun Sr Dr King'ola was introduced to the surprise of many as one of the lawyers for Kitany.
After brief introduction by lawyer Danstan Omari the nun cum lawyer sat calmly through the proceedings.
She was seen occasionally to be consulting with Omari and Kitany.
Once Omari was done with questioning Kitany's mum who was a witness in the case the nun picked up from where he left to ask questions.
The nun, assertive and confident, asked three questions.
Her fellow lawyers were amused.
After the session, she was easily at home with the usual crowd of lawyers. She was soon handing out her telephone contacts.
Sr King'ola, a partner at her law firm, is expected to boost Kitany's legal team.
She walked out of the court together with her client and posed for a photo on the steps of the courts at Milimani.
She always wore a broad smile.
