The High Court has dismissed a petition by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) seeking sweeping protections for advocates from arrest, prosecution, or harassment while representing clients.
In the case filed in 2019, LSK accused the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Inspector-General of Police, and other state agencies of intimidating lawyers, forcing them to reveal confidential client information, and even detaining them beyond the 24-hour constitutional limit.
The society sought court orders to stop such actions, compel police to release advocates on free bond, and require that disciplinary mechanisms under the Advocates Act be exhausted before any criminal charges are preferred.
However, Justice Lawrence Mugambi held that the petition was fatally defective, ruling that it lacked the necessary specificity and precision required of a constitutional petition.
The court noted that LSK had not named any specific advocates whose rights had been violated or cited concrete incidents to back its claims, instead relying on broad and generic allegations.
While affirming that LSK had the legal standing to file the case, the judge stressed that advocate-client privilege is not absolute.
He pointed out that under the Evidence Act, privilege does not apply when communications are made in furtherance of an illegal purpose or when an advocate becomes aware of a crime or fraud.
Justice Mugambi further added that advocates, like all other citizens, are subject to criminal investigation and prosecution if there is evidence of wrongdoing.
The court held that any interference with an advocate’s professional role must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and not through blanket orders as LSK had sought.
