An Advocate wants nine LSK Council members suspended from practice on grounds of professional misconduct.
Hellen Ringera has filed a complaint against Aluso Ingati, Roseline Odede, Faith Odhiambo, George Omwansa, Carolyne Mutheu, Bernard Ngetich, Ndinda Kinyili, Beth Michoma, Riziki Emukule and Mercy Wambua before the Advocates Disciplinary Committee.
Ringera has faulted the advocates for the manner in which they conducted themselves during the Law Society of Kenya Special General meeting (SGM) held on January 18,2021.
She says their actions have brought ridicule and disrepute to LSK which can only be remedied by them being suspended from practice.
In the affidavit, Ingati has been accused of switching off the microphone of the President of LSK Nelson Havi during the SGM in order to stop him from chairing the meeting.
The application for amendment was dismissed and a decision to suspend made on the original Motion affecting the nine Council Members only. Esther Ang’awa, Herine Kabita, Carolyne Kamende and Nelson Havi were not suspended as misrepresented by Edwin Sifuna.#Newsnight. ^POLSK pic.twitter.com/QI7mFtK6KR
— Nelson Havi (@NelsonHavi) January 19, 2021
“She further moved from her designated seat, stood in front of Havi, sat on top of his laptop and files and engaged in a dramatic shouting match to distract Havi from chairing the meeting,”Ringera said.
Other advocates including Odede, Odhiambo, Omwansa, Mutheu, Ngetich, Kinyili, Michoma, and Emukule have also been accused of interjecting without any just reason when Havi was chairing the meeting.
These advocates also engaged in a shouting match to stop Havi from chairing the meeting.
The said advocates have since been suspended from the council.
Their suspension paints a bleak future for the society’s organization as its council-highest decision making organ-now lacks a quorum to transact business.
In addition, Ringera in her affidavit before the committee has raised a number of complaints which she says amount to professional misconduct.
Among them is how the suspended council members unlawfully committed the LSK to spend Sh 662,000 on account of unbudgeted expenses incurred by the Public Interest Litigation Committee on the Legal Awareness Week on 9 November last year.
She says 11 days later, the advocates further unlawfully approved the payment by LSK of Sh 713,863 on account of expenses incurred by the Public Interest Litigation Committee on the Legal Awareness week.
Factional wars in the Law Society of Kenya was laid bare on Monday as passions flared, degenerating its special general meeting into a chaotic shouting match.
What was intended to be an orderly gathering was reduced to heckles. Only friendly voices were allowed to speak.
It all ended in the resignation of one council member, Roseline Odede, and a vote by acclamation to suspend eight members not aligned to president Nelson Havi.
Also suspended was Mercy Wambua—the society's chief executive who has been at loggerheads with Havi since last year.
