Historic LSK Elections Held Today

Members of the legal profession today went to the ballot to elect a new chairman and council to serve for the next two years. This is the first time in the 60 year history of Law Society of Kenya that members have voted for their officials by way of secret ballot. The historic elections are the first under the new constitution and the out-going council was of the opinion that if LSK was to remain at the forefront of championing rule of law and justice, it must lead by example. The postal ballot was, therefore, shelved despite the clear provisions of the LSK Act for the fact that it is prone to rigging and corruption in favour of the candidate preferred by the incumbent chairman.

In the aftermath of the elections, the incoming LSK leadership will have to decisively deal with, inter alia, the following key issues:-

• The escalating costs and the dwindling quality of bar education in Kenya.
• The need to revise the LSK Act in tandem with the rights and freedoms of the members under the new constitution.
• The devolution revolution, that is, the urgent need to devolve the Society’s mandates to county and regional branches.
• The chequered future of legal practice in Kenya and the potential of cross-border legal practice in East Africa.
• The quest for better welfare of members and especially the need to develop housing schemes for lawyers.
• The poor pay of young lawyers and associates and their frustrations with the overall system as witness by the recent case challenging the two year term.
• The diminishing image of the LSK as the vanguard of the rights of all and the objective defender of the public interest in Kenya.

Each of the candidates for Council Chairmanship, Vice-Chairmanship and Council Membership made specific promises on each these issues in the run-up to the elections. Our job here at Lawyer-Kenya is to wish them the very best and look forward to hold them accountable in the best interest of the profession and its membership.