LSK chair vows to defend lawyers after Omari summons

The Law Society of Kenya has weighed in on the row between the DCI and lawyer Danstan Omari. 

This follows a move by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to summon Omari for a statement recording over his remarks during a raid on the Nairobi home of former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i.

The government has denied claims of the February 8 raid.

LSK president Eric Theuri said Wednesday they asked DCI to defer the summons to February 27.

“We have asked the DCI to defer the summons issued to Danstan Omari to February 27, 2023 when I will personally present him. LSK will not countenance any violations of the Client /Attorney privilege. We shall robustly defend our right to practice as by law provided,” he said in a tweet.

Omari was supposed to appear before DCI on Wednesday but deferred the same to a later date because he was busy in court.

He had on Tuesday said he would honor the summons even as he protested, saying police were being used politically to harass him and his clients.

Omari said had he been defending a UDA politician, there would be no trouble for him but because he is defending Azimio ones, police are harassing him.

“I took an oath to defend clients and that is my job as a lawyer. This country cannot be filled with fear and intimidation because of politics. We will stand firm,” he said.

He added he was doing his job when he went to defend Matiangi over the raid.

Omari said he has defended police against false accusations when everyone did not want to touch them.

“They were accused of murder and no one wanted to defend them. This country cannot be filled with fear that we will charge you. The courts are independent.”

“When there is a change of regime they will still be arrested and the only constant factor is that lawyers will never refuse to represent a client because of politics. So I will be here tomorrow,” he said.

He spoke as he and Pokot MP David Pkosing walked out of DCI headquarters after being cleared of a probe into claims of being involved in cattle rustling.

Last Wednesday, police raided Matiang'i's home and carted away a server of CCTV camera.

They broke doors at the home as they ransacked it for the CCTV for footage of an earlier aborted raid which was denied by the government.

DCI Mohamed Amin said then they had made significant progress in the ongoing investigations surrounding allegations of a raid in the home of the former Cabinet Secretary on the night of Wednesday, February 8 2022.

“After a comprehensive investigation, the DCI has determined that no complaint has been made at any police station regarding the alleged raid.”

“Through our efforts, we have recorded statements from the VIP police deployed to Dr Matiang'i's residence on the night in question, as well as statements from the private security company guarding the property,” he said.

He added they have also taken note of the allegations made by lawyers who held a meeting with Dr Matiang'i before the complaint was lodged on live TV, including a claim that there were 200 lawyers surrounding the former minister to shield him from the police officers.

“We will continue to gather information from all parties involved in this matter. This afternoon, our officers obtained a search order to obtain CCTV recordings from the home of the former Interior Cabinet Secretary to establish the facts surrounding the alleged raid. “

“Upon completing our investigation, we will take action if any officers from any security agency were involved in any unauthorized activities, or if any false information was knowingly disseminated by anyone to the public,” he added.

Amin added the DCI is committed to conducting impartial investigations and upholding the rule of law.

“We take all allegations seriously and will continue to work diligently to bring the truth to light.”