NAIROBI, Kenya – The High Court has dismissed a petition by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) seeking to bar the arrest, prosecution, or harassment of advocates while carrying out their professional duties.
In the 2019 petition, LSK accused the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Inspector-General of Police, and other state agencies of intimidating lawyers, forcing them to reveal confidential client information, and detaining them beyond the constitutionally mandated 24 hours.
The society also sought an order requiring police to grant advocates free bond and to pursue disciplinary action under the Advocates Act before instituting criminal proceedings.
However, Justice Lawrence Mugambi declared the case “fatally defective,” citing its lack of specificity and failure to identify any particular advocates whose rights had been violated.
He noted the petition relied on sweeping claims unsupported by evidence of actual incidents.
While affirming LSK’s legal standing to file the case, the judge stressed that advocate–client privilege is not absolute.
The Evidence Act, he said, allows exceptions for communications made in furtherance of illegal activities or where an advocate is aware of a crime or fraud.
Justice Mugambi added that lawyers, like all citizens, are subject to investigation and prosecution where there is evidence of wrongdoing.
Any interference with their work, he said, should be determined on a case-by-case basis rather than through blanket immunity.
