• Motion to eject Havi from the helm was defeated.
• Odede, a senior lawyer, told the gathering the infighting in the LSK council had rendered it completely dysfunctional and it was emotionally draining and frustrating, hence her decision to quit.
Image: COURTESY
Factional wars in the Law Society of Kenya was laid bare on Monday as passions flared, degenerating its special general meeting into a chaotic shouting match.
What was intended to be an orderly gathering was reduced to heckles. Only friendly voices were allowed to speak. It all ended in the resignation of one council member, Roseline Odede, and a vote by acclamation to suspend eight members not aligned to president Nelson Havi.
Also suspended was Mercy Wambua—the society's chief executive who has been at loggerheads with Havi since last year.
Odede, a senior lawyer, attended the meeting virtually. She told the gathering the infighting in the LSK council had rendered it completely dysfunctional and it was emotionally draining and frustrating, hence her decision to quit.
Havi announced that an election for Odede's replacement will take place on March 25.
"Who else is resigning?" Havi asked council members amid chants of "resign" by attendees to disgruntled members.
The factions tried to outfox each other, with one led by Havi said to have travelled to the meeting to raise his numbers. Havi had told the Star last week that he was sure to remain the society's boss because he had the votes.
Another group aligned to the eight council members attended mainly online. Only a few of them turned up physically.
Havi's group, mainly comprising young lawyers, took charge of the meeting, shouting down any voice that was dissenting or perceived to be opposing him. Three main motions were to be considered, including the removal of Havi from the helm of the society, the appointment of an auditor to review its books and the position of chief executive Mercy Wambua.
Deciding on who would vote also proved emotive, with the Havi group wanting only the side physically present to participate. They objected to the online team.
"By side-lining the online team from participating, you're doing a great disservice to members and this is unacceptable," Carolyne Mutheu, a council member, said.
The physical attendees who were pro-Havi group rammed through every proposal he brought. For example, they adopted Parker Randall, a Havi-hand-picked auditing firm, to review LSK books.
A motion to eject Havi from the helm was also defeated.
Maria Mbeneka, Havi's opponent in the 2020 LSK election, took her frustration to social media, saying: "How not to conduct meetings 101 as has happened today LSK. A complete and utter shame."
She added: "Meanwhile the real LSK SGM was in the chat group where we being asked to raise our hands; enyewe there's a new despot in town!"
She attended the meeting virtually.
Lawyer Linda Bonyo also took her frustrations online, saying: "Nelson Havi is the worst thing to ever happen to the Law Society of Kenya."
She was part of the online attendees who found it rough seeking to speak during the meeting.