Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo has raised the alarm over a scheme by the National Police Service to intimidate lawyers.
Odhiambo, in a statement issued on Wednesday, revealed a ploy that the police are currently using to harass their clients. She called on the officers to refrain from crossing lines placed by the Constitution in defense of justice and the rule of law.
“A worrying trend has manifested of intimidation of lawyers as part of a scheme to harass their clients. This is an old trick in the book against liberties, and it has no place in Kenya. The police must not cross that indelible line the Constitution places in defense of justice and the rule of law,” Odhiambo stated.
The LSK President also claimed that the police had developed a habit of showing up at lawyers’ residences uninvited, instead of issuing summons through legal channels. She condemned the act, calling for an end to it, and adding that it undermines the country’s justice system.
“Let us not turn back the clock by unlawful orders or uninformed zeal. It is unacceptable for police to show up at lawyers’ residences at night when the lawyers can be summoned to record statements through the proper, formal channels, if need be. This emerging habit must stop.”
LSK’s concern comes after opposition leaders also condemned trends where security officers are allegedly deployed to abduct Kenyans.
Leader of the Wiper Party, Kalonzo Musyoka, claimed that the government had put together a police unit with stringent instructions to silence those opposing the Kenya Kwanza government.
“There is a capture squad operating in this country. We are guided by what Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said last night — that a special team exists to eliminate opposition in Kenya,” Kalonzo stated.
