Focus on Sh1.2b centre as lawyers meet

The architectural impression of LSK International Arbitration and Convention Centre

The Sh1.2 billion Law Society of Kenya (LSK) International Arbitration and Convention Centre row is expected to dominate the body's Annual General Meeting (AGM) Saturday.

A group of lawyers under OKoa-LSK banner argue that money allocated for the billion shilling-worth building is unreasonable compared to buying office space in town.

The process of acquiring money for the building has been opposed in the corridors of justice and the matter is currently before the Court of Appeal. However, the current divisions might spark more rifts in the body with the council on one hand and on the other hand; members who LSK chairman Erick Mutua claims are a tool by the Jubilee government meant to weaken the body.

The group led by lawyer Edwin Sifuna, claim that forensic audit revealed the cost of the project had sky rocketed in a short span of time with more than Sh40 million.

Mr Sifuna claimed the number of the parking spaces were less than what had been proposed and members would be forced to dig deeper into their pockets to make the centre a reality.

He said the financial report presented at the Special General Meeting in October 2014 had pegged the cost of the project at Sh1,208,489,664 adding that on October 4, 2014 Mutua had indicated that the cost of the project was Sh1,255,000,000.

"These are the glaring issues the LSK Council has refused to face," said Sifuna adding that members would have to pay Sh164,958,839 to the financiers as interest and loan negotiation costs during the construction period.

Sifuna said: "The LSK chair has dismissed our queries and in an article appearing last week in one of the dailies, he claimed the Okoa-LSK team were agents of a plot by Jubilee to weaken LSK. He named Eric Ngeno, Jasper Mbiuki, Faith Waigwa, Jacky Manani and myself as being "key players" in that scheme. This is not true. Ngeno and Mbiuki are not part of Okoa-LSK team. I do not have Jubilee officials as my clients as he claimed and my political views are known."

Mega project

Mutua maintains that the arbitration center project is being managed transparently. He said the project was clean and would benefit all of them upon completion.

The LSK boss at the same time took an issue with members who are not backing the mega project, saying that they are pursuing political agendas.

He accuses the Uhuru-Ruto government for using some of the defiant members in the society to create divisions with LSK.

''With the current dictatorial trend by the government of the day, it is critical that we build a strong LSK that is capable of defending constitutionalism, democracy and the rule of law. I keep reminding critics of LSK that more than any other profession; members of LSK paid the heftiest price in the fight to expand democratic space," Mutua notes.

In reply to this, Sifuna says: "We are not pursuing the removal of LSK Chairman and the entire council because of political interests but it is because as young lawyers we are affected by the council's decisions."

Already, Sh54 million has been raised by 2,338 LSK members while a case is still pending at the Court of Appeal over the project.