The Law Society of Kenya will on Thursday elect a new crop of leaders. The Star interviewed former LSK president Nelson Havi on his perspective on the vote and the candidates.
Excerpts:
What is the future of the legal profession and what do you think are the dangers facing it?
The future of the profession is endangered and I sit here a sad man. Those endangering it are the young lawyers. They want to get rich quickly and that is why they are complaining about the LSK MoU with the Financial Reporting Centre to combat money laundering. These people don’t read at all and only want freebies. They want to drive a Range Rover and TX, yet they are just starting out. With my decades of practice, I drive my BMW I bought in 2013 and is now a jalopy but I'm content with it. These come to office at 9am and leave at 5pm and do not want to do the work. When I was a pupil at Salim Dhanji’s law firm over 20 years ago, I came to the office before 6am every day and I was the one opening the office and left at 9pm. I tell my pupils here to read key books and a week on, they have not even opened the cover. I’m afraid the lawyers of the future are shallow in reading, have wanting work ethics and use shortcuts rather than doing the dirty and sweaty hard work.
You left office in early 2022 under controversial circumstances stemming from your tenure. Any regrets?
I don’t regret anything that happened during my tenure as the 49th president of the Law Society of Kenya. I understood my assignment to be a wartime president and executed it with clinical precision, visiting wounds on those who needed it and patching up divides that I deemed fit. I had blood on my hands and could not back down from attaining the goals I had trained my focus on. We ran against status quo and dismantling it required more than boardroom posturing.
How do you assess the tenure of your successors led by Eric Theuri?
Eric Theuri is my friend and he has sat in the chair you’re sitting on times without number. In my objective assessment, he has done a sterling job in leading the society as the 50th president. I understand there are those quarters blaming him for this or that, but I tell you as a leader, you are only popular until you take the oath of office.
People out of office can say anything to win support because they have no record to run on and people fashioning themselves as outsiders exploit this in any elective contest all the time. I did it during my time, heaping all the blame for anything not working on the shoulders of those in office and who have done their best in their jobs. The same understanding explains the complaints about huduma justice centres, because those young lawyers complaining don’t know how the National Council on the Administration of Justice works.
The only issue I have with Theuri is his subservience to Chief Justice Martha Koome. I don’t understand why he thought this is the best approach but he looks weak before her and does not make any plausible efforts at challenging her for the good of the justice sector and the rule of law.
About Thursday's elections, you have made your slate of endorsements. What are their chances?
I have endorsed my deputy Carolyne Kamende because in my world, loyalty and friendship counts for something. She was by my side and believed in my assignment for the society at the tumultuous time. It is only decent that I return the favour and ask my friends and those who respect me to vote for her.
However, I conducted a poll on X (formerly Twitter) and Faith Odhiambo tied with Peter Wanyama, showing the race is largely between the two, with Kamende not playing competitively. I can comfortably say that barring any surprises, either Odhiambo or Wanyama will be the 51st president of the society at the end of Thursday.
At the level of the male representative to the Judicial Service Commission, I have endorsed Omwanza Ombati, a seasoned litigator with skills of a surgeon in dealing with heavy matters. I trust his integrity and ability to push matters of public interest at the commission and to stand up to Chief Justice Koome, who is proving by the day that she is out of depth.
What issues do you think are at play in this election that may be determinative of the eventual winner?
Faith Odhiambo is viewed as the incumbent and in most cases, such a position is difficult to run on because every failure of the team is heaped on you. The outsider posture taken by Wanyama could play in his favour because it is the surest route by opposing candidates. He has no record to run on and can promise anything, claim anything and exploit difficulties lawyers are experiencing to rail against Odhiambo. Some of these challenges are not within the ambit of the president of the LSK but you just hammer them.
Another issue is the gender question. The person favoured for vice president is Mwaura Kabata and this can work in favour of Odhiambo because post-2010, Kenyans have a soft spot for balanced gender in leadership positions. But if Ann Konuche gets votes and beats Kabata, then people may say how do we have two women occupy the presidency and vice presidency at the same time? Another aspect of the gender question is the fact that some people may still have jitters on being led by a woman and however absurd that may sound, it may affect Odhiambo’s chances.