By KENAN MIRUKA
KENYA: An advocate in Kisii County has moved to court seeking to invalidate the requirement that new lawyers be members of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) before being allowed to practice law in Kenya.
In a petition filed at the Kisii High Court, lawyer Julius Nyabuto Ondika wants the court to order a judicial review directing the High Court Chief Registrar to directly receive the prescribed fees for a practicing certificate for lawyers.
He alleges that the LSK requirement that all practicing lawyers be members is an infringement of a right in the Bill of Rights Articles 32 and 36 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
In the petition filed through through Minda and Company Advocates, the petitioner has cited LSK and the Attorney General as respondents.
He further claims that the role of LSK in the provisions of protection and services to the advocates has become obsolete because the council of legal education is charged with conducting continuous legal education for lawyers.
He says it is, therefore, unconstitutional for LSK to levy fees for a task that is not within its mandate.
