The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has condemned the Law Council of Uganda’s decision to deny Martha Karua a temporary practicing certificate, preventing her from representing Kizza Besigye before Uganda’s General Court Martial in Kampala.
In a press statement on December 10, 2024, LSK President Faith Adhiambo described the decision as derogatory and high-handed.
“We strongly disapprove of the derogatory, contemptuous, and authoritarian decision made by the Law Council of Uganda,” Adhiambo said. “This action undermines the mutual cooperation between the Kenyan and Ugandan bars, and the reasoning provided is both ludicrous and offensive.”
Adhiambo emphasized that it was incomprehensible for the Law Council of Uganda to treat Kenyan practitioners, especially a reputable senior counsel like Karua, with such disregard.
The LSK president further pointed out that Kenyan courts have consistently supported cross-border legal practice, welcoming advocates from Uganda and other countries.
Odhiambo announced plans to escalate the matter to the Attorney General, urging swift intervention to resolve the issue. “Cognizant of our mandate under the Law Society of Kenya Act to protect legal practice in Kenya, it can no longer be acceptable or commonplace that we check outright this respect lying down,” she said.
“LSK will engage the Attorney General immediately to bring the longstanding issue of cross-border practice to a decisive end.”
In conclusion, Odhiambo called for mutual respect and dignity in regional legal practice. “We must either find a symbiotic, reciprocal, and formal engagement that promotes the interests of all parties or preserve the dignity of Kenyan legal practice by withdrawing from lopsided arrangements marred with non-committal and disingenuity,” she added.
