City lawyer Omwanza Ombati got a boost in his campaign for the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Male Representative at the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) following the endorsement by Kisii leaders during the Gusii Advocates Forum fete on Saturday. He received a key endorsement from the controversial Majority Chief Whip Silvanus Osoro who described the lawyer as the most competent and trustworthy to represent the LSK at JSC.
Among the other Gussi leaders who endorsed Omwanza’s candidature include, Governor Nyaribo, Nyamira senator Okong’o Omogeni of Azimio, Charles Nyachae and Danstan Omari.
Osiri’s endorsement come at a time when candidates have been engaged in smear campaigns and trading accusations over who’s allied with the executive, opposition and not. This is stemmed from the claims made publicly by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei who in January said he will push for a radical surgery at the helm of the Law Society of Kenya in the next polls.
Senator Omogeni amongst the leaders who endorsed Omwanza.
The vocal senator said President William Ruto’s allies will ensure that the next leadership of LSK will support the government’s agenda.
”The current law society of Kenya is made up of people who are working with those opposed to the government and that is why in the coming elections we have people who support the government’s agenda,” Cherargei said.
Cherargei said in Iten that the Kenya Kwanza agenda was being frustrated by people who have connections within LSK.
”I am a member of the LSK and when we have elections soon we will install people who will support your(Ruto’s) agenda,” he said.
Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General Cleophas Malala accused the opposition of using the LSK to fight President Ruto’s administration.
In July last year, the National Assembly Chief Whip, revealed an elaborate scheme used by the ruling coalition, Kenya Kwanza, to defeat the opposition in the vote on the Finance Bill, 2023.
Osoro addressing fellow advocates at the Gusii Advocates Forum meet-up in Nairobi where he endorsed Ombati.
The South Mugirango MP revealed the dirty and unethical tricks they used to woo their Azimio counterparts, including arm-twisting the opposition through bribery, which resulted in the ruling party gaining a numerical advantage in Parliament to pass the government’s controversial Finance Bill.
Mr Osoro said the government spent a lot of money (although he did not specify how much) to manipulate opposition MPs to stay away from parliament during the vote so that it could pass with little opposition.
“I had to look for ways, by hook or by crook, to get it through, I had to manipulate systems, I looked for ways to get the opposition MPs to play our tune, I conspired with the opposition MPs and got some of them to absent themselves from the House so that I could get the numbers. Some were sponsored to go abroad while others were bribed to feign illness,” Mr Osoro claimed.
The controversial legislator has also been at loggerheads with Kisii Governor Simba Arati which has led to chaos and ugly scenes amongst their supporters.
Theuri vs Ombati
From the looks, it is going to be a rematch between Law Society of Kenya’s outgoing president Eric Theuri and lawyer Omwanza Ombati for the seat.
The two were the main rivals in the 2022 LSK election for its presidency but Theuri prevailed.
When he was cleared to run for the LSK Male Representative position, Ombati said his objective is to improve the operations of the JSC to make it more open and develop policies that improve advocates’ practice environment.
“The Judicial Service Commission is not merely an institution; it is the oil that runs the engines of our daily legal endeavours through critical policy interventions,” Ombati said.
“As advocates, the decision we make in choosing our representative at the JSC is of paramount importance. Our aim is clear: to seek a representative who not only understands the challenges that we face in practice but also has the best plan to address the challenges.”
The advocate counts on his 20 years’ experience to deliver for the lawyers and for the public interest.
“I believe my 20 years of active practice within the corridors of justice have prepared me adequately to represent my esteemed colleagues at the Judiciary Service Commission,” Ombati said.
Theuri said his focus is on helping reform the commission to be responsive to the needs of advocates and ensure quick turnaround of cases to deal with the backlog.
He would also champion making it easier to hold judges accountable by going after those suspected of corruption, mainstreaming lifestyle audit of the judges and peer review so that judges can denounce their colleagues for the benefit of justice.
“The judges know each other and we can streamline peer review mechanisms to so that those who suspect their colleagues can come forward for a thorough audit to be done and hold those in office to irregularly enrich themselves through bribes,” he said.
Key among his reform focus is ensuring judges commit to not deliver decisions and judgments on notice.
The two are seeking to replace Macharia Njeru whose six-year term ends in May.
The LSK election is scheduled to be held on February 29.
Kenya Insights allows guest blogging, if you want to be published on Kenya’s most authoritative and accurate blog, have an expose, news TIPS, story angles, human interest stories, drop us an email on [email protected] or via Telegram