NANYUKI, Kenya, Apr 19 – Authorities in Nanyuki, Laikipia county have arrested ten people suspecting of having been impersonating lawyers and conning suspecting clients as they seek legal services.
The suspects are believed to be running offices in Nanyuki town and at the time of arrest Wednesday, Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the office of the Directorate of Criminal investigations had carried out a thorough operation for a while before exposing them.
Speaking to the media, Nanyuki Chapter LSK chairperson Joseph Mwangi said they carried out the operation to rid out the fake lawyers after the public outcry.
“In this town we have had a serious problem with quacks and many members of the public have lost their money particularly on land transactions. This prompted us to make a formal report to the law enforcement agencies because we noted that those transactions had become quite rampant in this town,” said Mwangi.
He revealed the suspects draw sale agreements, transfers and prepare court documents on issues of succession cases among others.
The LSK official noted that the bogus lawyers had gone to an extent of impersonating advocates in court proceedings.
The LSK called on citizens to be cautious when seeking legal services by verifying their authenticity from the office.
Laikipia County Criminal Investigation Officer (CCIO) Onesmus Towett confirmed the arrest of the suspects, adding that they will be arraigned in court on Wednesday.
“We got a complaint from the LSK from this region that a number of people have been practising as lawyers in this town yet they don’t have permission to do so. We carried out our investigations and a number of them got arrested. They are now in custody to assist in further investigations,” said the CCIO.
The suspects will be arraigned in Nanyuki court today.
