Four people believed to be fake lawyers were arrested in Nairobi during an operation carried out by police and members of the Law Society of Kenya.
The four were booked at Central and Kilimani police stations awaiting presentation in court, officials said.
LSK President Eric Theuri said the four were arrested in offices in Kilimani and the city centre when the society staged a countrywide operation to weed out masqueraders and quacks in the legal profession.
Flanked by other officials among them Linda Kiome who is the society convenor of practise standards and ethics committee, Theuri told the media outside the Supreme Court buildings that the decision to launch the operation was necessitated by many complaints that his association had received from members of the public and its members.
He said several complaints had been received at their office of people posing as lawyers, receiving money and pretending that they will present people in court.
Theuri said the operation will be carried out in all eight branches that the association has members and offices.
“We have partnered with police and the office of the DPP where all people who will be arrested in connection to the offence we will present ourselves in all courts that they will be arraigned in and oppose their bail,” said Theuri.
He added they will be opposing their release on bail because they discovered that soon those “quack lawyers” are released on bail they move from one town or city to another and continue with their illegal operations.
The LSK boss disclosed too that lawyers practising without valid certificates will also be hunted and prosecuted.
“Whoever is seeking services of any lawyer in the country he or should visit the LSK website to ascertain whether that person is genuine and has a valid practising from our association because every lawyer has a registered number which is renewed every year,” said Theuri.
He also cautioned law students from practising or representing clients in court saying that they have to wait and graduate from law school.
Theuri warned lawyers who engage those students in their offices or their workers by sending them to court to represent their lawyers saying that if they are found they will also be arrested, prosecuted and students barred from graduating from law school.
Asked about one of the city lawyers who was reported last year for practising without a valid certificate, Theuri said that the association had written to him to explain the reasons why he was doing so and that they were waiting for his response before they take more actions on him.
He said legally registered and practising lawyers in the country are 15,000.
Kiome said during the raid one of the fake lawyers escaped after getting a hint but they were still pursuing him alongside others in the city.
On the Finance Bill that has been proposed to be tabled in Parliament, Theuri said his association was preparing to write a memorandum saying there were sections which he described as harmful to people.
He said LSK had previously challenged the stamp duty rule and its application in the country.
