Law Society of Kenya (LSK) presidential candidates took on each other as they outlined their policies during a debate on K24 TV on Thursday night February 8, 2024.
Four candidates, Peter Wanyama, Faith Odhiambo, Harriet Njoki and Bernard Kipkoech turned up for the debate while Caroline Kamende failed to show up.
The youngest contestant Harriet Njoki underscored the independence of the Judiciary while stressing that the Executive branch of the government should keep off the bar.
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"Independence of the bar is extremely important and the Executive should get their hands off the bar. Members should be keen and interrogate and see who is the state project," she said.
Peter Wanyama on his part noted that the law is no longer a prestigious profession as lawyers nowadays are tarmacking like ordinary Kenyans.
"The question is, what happened to the profile and prestige of lawyers? If you go to Jevanjee you will find lawyers there. Unemployment is huge," he lamented.
"We are staring at a dying legal profession in the sense that the legal economy is shrinking and yet the number of practitioners keeps increasing," Wanyama added.
On his part, Bernard Kipkoech noted that the problems of budding lawyers idling because of unemployment could be tackled by established attorneys.
"The problems that we have as a senior bar and as a young bar are problems that have been there for a long time. We need to manage the expectations of the young lawyers by bringing in the senior lawyers to talk to them," Kipkoech said.
Faith Odhiambo suggested that rookie lawyers should be trained to meet the needs of the 21st century as a means to tackle unemployment within the profession.
"We have to train our lawyers to meet the needs of the 21st century. In regards to the disparity between the senior and the young bar, the challenge is how can the two connect?" She said.
Wanyama, while insisting that the legal profession was on its deathbed, argued that the legal economy was shrinking because of the sheer number of people pursuing the law career vis-à-vis the available opportunities.
"We are staring at a dying legal profession in the sense that the legal economy is shrinking and yet the number of practitioners keeps increasing. We aren't creating opportunities for young lawyers," he said.
Wanyama also lamented that fake lawyers had further tainted the image of the law profession, vowing to put an end to vice if elected LSK president.
"It is a total shame to have a masquerader in the Law Society in Kenya. We need to do more to ensure that this matter is addressed because it kills the confidence that the public has in lawyers. As President of LSK, I will do what it takes to renew confidence in the system," he said.
