By Peter K'opiyo
The Uganda Law Council has revealed the reason behind the move to lock out Narc Kenya Party leader, and Senior Council Martha Karua from representing the country’s opposition leader Kiiza Besigye.
Besigye was abducted in Nairobi last month, and returned to Uganda where he was charged in a court of law with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Karua, one of Kenya’s most renowned female advocates joined his legal team as the lead counsel, but she was locked out and denied the privilege to represent her client in a Makindye-based general court.
She went ahead and applied to the Uganda Law Council for a temporary practicing certificate that would enable her to lead Besigye’s legal team.
The Uganda Law Council noted that in her application, Karua had submitted her practicing certificate and a letter from the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) confirming that she was licensed to practice law.
Nonetheless, according to the 6-page document by the Law Council, it was observed during its special meeting that among other things, the particulars of the case in which the former presidential candidate was invited to appear were not stated.
“The particulars of the case in which you were invited or retained to appear, save for naming the parties, were not mentioned yet they are required to be stated in the event a special practicing certificate is granted under section 18(10 of the Advocates act, Cap 295,” read the letter that was officially stamped by Nabakooza K. Margaret, the secretary of the Law Council.
The council therefore ruled that it has not given any lawyer who is not of Ugandan nationality the permission to practice law in the country, representing criminal cases adding that it considered Karua’s invite as not professional.
“The Law Council has not, hitherto, considered or granted an application to a legal practitioner from another country to appear in court in a criminal case. Applications that have been brought, considered and granted have been in civil matters. It was observed from the application that the intention of bringing you on board is not purely professional, it is definitely tinged with a political agenda,” read the report on considerations of the council.
The council outlined nine considerations from its seven observations and further gave a verdict of denying the high-profile female advocate a chance to prove her prowess in the neighboring country.
“For the reasons above, your application for a Special Practicing Certificate is denied,” read the letter intended for Martha Karua on the council’s decision.
As such, LSK has vowed revenge, threatening to suspend admission of Ugandan advocates into Kenyan practice until the reciprocal arrangements are implemented.
"This measure, though regrettable, is necessary to uphold the dignity and equity of Kenyan legal practice," said LSK President Faith Odhiambo.
