Last week, the Law Society of Kenya held its annual conference to take stock of its own execution of statutory mandates.
Hosted at the astonishingly scenic Diani, Kwale County, this year’s symposium focused on the society’s function of upholding the constitution and advancing the rule of law and administration of justice.
The theme, “protecting constitutionalism and rule of law- ensuring accountability” could not have been more apt. The sub-themes of “responsible management of public finance” and “mainstreaming environmental, social and governance frameworks and digital trust” were similarly pertinent.
The sub-themes spoke to the somewhat shallow grievance that society has over-played the rule of law topic over the years. Shallow, I submit, because the importance of the rule of law can never be overemphasised.
Without the rule of law, everything in a republic crumbles. And life in such a republic takes the Hobbesian description: solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.
For four days, members engaged in lively ruminations on the state of the country, the role of the society in aligning Kenyans’ conduct with the aspirations of their constitution, and the status of institutions, which form the bulwark of rule of law.
For the new members such as myself, the many sessions of the conference were not only illuminating but also sights and sounds to behold. I regaled at the open and fair opportunity the society accorded its members to express themselves.
A
senior parliamentary official confessed that the current Legislature is the
weakest of its kind in history. He was seconded by a former MP who declared
that Kenyans would miss nothing if parliamentary vetting for top positions was
abolished.
In the sessions, a former official of Judicial Service Commission invoked the invention of Judiciary’s equivalent of the Executive’s nightmarish “one-term” chants, to confront the emerging culture of pre-emptive causes among top judges.
A former presidential adviser singled out the President as the biggest corrupting factor in Parliament. A senior practitioner gladly informed a Supreme Court judge “heaven is not corrupted when the devil suddenly becomes too active.”
The titular head of the bar, the Attorney General, almost faced the wrath of her members when she claimed that there are still non-bailable offences in this country. She was saved by own ingenious plea on members' deference for prayer.
The Chief Justice admitted that judges are corrupt, but when she added the rider “but who is bringing corruption to the Judiciary?” the room fell silent!
President Akinwumi Adesina of the African Development Bank made a powerful case for rule of law, explaining that public finance cannot thrive in a vacuum. When Africa stands for rule of law, the world will stand with Africa, he submitted.
The inaugural LSK Men Lawyers Forum accorded benefits of the decade’s worth of reflections from senior’s Mohamed Nyaoga, Eric Gumbo, Ambassdor Maurice Oloo, Prof Githu Muigai on work-life balance.
At 65 but still sporting the looks of a 36-year-old, Nyaoga plays football twice a week, golf regularly, quit WhatsApp eight years ago, drinks only water and attends all his scheduled corporate, business and client meetings.
Still, he’s looking for things to do with the time left out of his busy schedule!
By
the LSK secretariat’s own admission, this year’s annual conference was the most
attended conference in recent history. 1,400 advocates out of the 1,700 who
expressed interest, attended.
Ultimately, the 2025 conference was a crowning moment for the outgoing president Faith Odhiambo. Upon her election last year, some members begrudgingly embraced her. In Diani, however, glowing tributes poured on her.
She had gathered the “lost children” of the society from the ends of the earth, and assembled them in Diani. In the words of her deputy Mwaura Kabata, Madam Faith “came, saw and redefined the battlefield.”
When all was said and done in Diani, and with no objection from the sea, a bare-footed Madam Faith opened the dance floor by the beach. King George Gustavo, the inimitable king of good times, singer, actor and advocate of the High Court, emceed the gala dinner.
