• Gichuhi says the invitation was without the authority or knowledge of Committee on Senior Counsel, hence illegal.
• Gichuhi wants court to quash the invitation and stop the committee and the LSK from receiving, or making any decision in relation to any application.
Former Law Society of Kenya president Allen Gichuhi has filed a case challenging invitation for applications for conferment of the rank of senior counsel.
Gichuhi says the invitation as contained in an email address to LSK members dated September 2 and advertised in one of the local dailies was unlawful.
On February 25, the Committee on Senior Counsel invited qualified members of he LSK to apply for the conferment of the rank. But Gichuhi says the invitation was without the authority or knowledge of Committee on Senior Counsel, making it illegal.
"Under the senior counsel rules, it is the committee that invites applications for the conferment of the rank of senior counsel. The same committee considers the applications and makes binding recommendations to the Chief Justice and the President for the conferment of rank of senior counsel," he says.
Gichuhi wants the court to quash the invitation and stop the committee and the LSK from receiving, or making any decision in relation to any application submitted pursuant to the invitation.
High Court Judge Pauline Nyamweya certified the matter as urgent and directed the case be heard on priority basis. Parties in the case will file necessary documentation electronically through the Judiciary e-filing system before September 30 when the case will be heard.
According to the court documents, Allen and other applicants lodged their separate applications within the deadline for receiving them — September 30, 2020. The documents further indicate that applications are made to the LSK, which forwards them to the committee for consideration.
"I have established that the LSK has failed or refused to forward the applications received in spite of requests by the Committee on Senior Counsel," says Allen.