Lawyers now grapple with expensive admission regalia as Chief Justice accepts to admit 800

Chief Justice David Maraga is set to admit over 800 Lawyers to the Roll of Advocates next Month. Through letters addressed to the Lawyers from the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, the lawyers have been instructed to wear the appropriate regalia for the admission ceremony.

The Registrar has in the letters instructed each lawyer to be fully robbed, which means that they would need to wear a Black Robe, white-collar wing shirts, a flap, and a Barrister's wig.

This comes in the wake of debates as to the necessity of this regalia, which has attracted criticism from various factions. The Black robe costs an average of Sh 8,000 while the Barrister's wig costs up to Sh 50,000. 

Sources have indicated that nobody would be allowed within the precincts of the Supreme Court not properly dressed.

The Lawyers are therefore grappling with these costs even as Law Society of Kenya Council election aspirants have promised to sponsor some of them in acquiring the regalia.

The Chief Justice is expected to preside over the admissions on 5th, 6th, 12th, and 13th February 2020 in an event to be attended by representatives of the Attorney General, the LSK and the CLE.

The Supreme Court does not offer for the hiring of this expensive regalia, which was adopted from the Old English legal practice.