LSK vice president Teresia Wavinya and president Charles Kanjama during the Purple Ribbon march over the controversial deaths of their colleagues, Edward Kariuki and Esther Keige outside the Supreme court, Nairobi on July 10, 2026/LEAH MUKANGAI
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) on Friday led a national day of solidarity and protest, calling for swift investigations into the deaths of two advocates and demanding stronger measures to protect legal professionals.
Dressed in formal attire and adorned with purple ribbons, lawyers marched from the Milimani Law Courts to the Supreme Court, where they paused to recite their creed before proceeding to Jogoo House.
Amid chants of "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!", the legal practitioners later marched to Vigilance House, where they presented a memorandum to the National Police Service.
The protest followed the discovery of the body of 54-year-old Esther Keige, a legal manager at the Kenya Forest Service, in a coffee plantation in Juja nearly a month after she disappeared on June 10.
Her death came 48 hours after the body of 30-year-old advocate Edward Kariuki was found with severe head injuries outside his Athi River residence. Kariuki had left home on the afternoon of July 4 and never returned.
Police have confirmed that a postmortem examination on Keige was inconclusive due to decomposition, with toxicology results pending. Investigators are also relying on phone records to trace Kariuki's final movements.
Addressing the demonstrators, LSK president Charles Kanjama described the deaths as an attack on the legal profession.
"We stand here this morning to commemorate the victims in the legal process who have given their lives in the fight for justice, in the fight for freedom of law," he said.
"We shall remain warriors… we shall stand firm."
The advocates also vowed to resist criminality and defend the Constitution.
LSK Nairobi branch chairperson Eric Kivuva said, "Never again must our colleagues be killed in the line of duty… enough is enough. We must escalate. We must hold people to account."
The LSK is demanding the immediate establishment of a high-level multi-agency investigative team led by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
It is also calling for a comprehensive forensic audit of all contested land acquisition and leasing files handled by the Kenya Forest Service Legal Department over the past 12 months to determine whether Keige's official duties were connected to her death.
The society further called for immediate security interventions for advocates serving in public institutions and a transparent mechanism through which state agencies can provide regular updates on the progress of investigations.
The legal practitioners said they believe the killings are an attack on the administration of justice and argued that the incidents were not a coincidence.
At Jogoo House, security officials allowed 10 representatives into the building to deliver the memorandum.
The lawyers observed a minute's silence for their fallen colleagues, with prayers led in both the Christian and Muslim traditions.
Activists Michael Ngige "Kenyatta" and Julius Kamau joined the lawyers in solidarity.
“We have come as concerned citizens in solidarity with lawyers because if lawyers can be killed in this gruesome manner, what about ordinary Kenyans?” Kamau asked.
"Where are we heading as a country under the regime of President William Ruto? Why have the people become so cruel?
“The police have become criminals. Instead of protecting people, they are killing people. I think we need a solution."
At Vigilance House, Kanjama confirmed that the memorandum had been presented to the police leadership.
"We have assembled, we have demonstrated, we have petitioned and we have now come to present the petition. This petition has been presented to the Inspector General of Police and we have a stamp from the Inspector General of Police," he said.
"This petition has been sent to the Inspector General of Police, and we have expressed our concerns over the deaths of Esther and Edward, and even the unexplained death of Kyalo Mbobu, who was assassinated. We have asked for investigations."
The society has previously documented cases of enforced disappearances, abductions, kidnappings and torture involving advocates.
