- Lawyer Paul Macharia says the guiding law is under section 134 of the Evidence Act cap 80 law of Kenya and advocates codes of Ethics.
Advocate Client confidentiality means that the lawyer must not reveal information shared with him by the client in the course of taking instructions.
Early this week there was a debate on social media on advocating client confidentiality after Lawyer Danstan Omari was summoned to shed light on former CS Fred Matiang’i alleged home raid.
Lawyers condemned the summons by DCI saying that was intruding on their advocate client confidentiality which is provided for in law.
According to academia.edu, confidentiality provides that subject to certain exceptions, an advocate must keep confidential all information related to the representation of the client.
Lawyer Paul Macharia says the guiding law is under section 134 of the Evidence Act cap 80 law of Kenya and advocates codes of Ethics.
He said lawyers have a professional duty of confidentiality to their clients subject to conduct rules.
"Generally, they cannot be forced to disclose information which has been communicated for the purpose of giving or obtaining legal advice. There is also the client's legal professional privilege,” Macharia said.
He further said that no matter how the attorney-client privilege is articulated, there are four basic elements necessary to establish its existence which includes communication made between privileged persons in confidence or for the purpose of seeking, obtaining or providing legal assistance to the client.
“Legal profession privilege means that an advocate cannot disclose any documents given to him by the client, or any legal advice that he gave to the client. An advocate owes the client a duty of confidentiality, as a rule,” Macharia said.
Macharia further said the right and duty of the legal professional to keep confidential information received from and advice given to the client is an indispensable feature of the rule of law.
He said confidentiality enhances the client’s trust in the legal profession and facilitates full and frank communication between the Advocate and the client.
“Advocate-client confidentiality must be nurtured, respected and protected by regulatory authorities, fellow professionals and the legal professional himself/herself,” he said.