The Law Society of Kenya and detectives have uncovered a syndicate in Nyahururu where thousands of victims have lost money and property to fake lawyers..
The Law Society of Kenya and detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations have uncovered a syndicate in Nyahururu through which thousands of victims have lost money and property.
The syndicate, detectives said, appears to be a well-organised criminal web involving bogus lawyers, chiefs and Lands ministry officials.
Going by the documents and files recovered during raids of the group's offices in Nyahururu town, tens of victims from Laikipia, Nyandarua, Baringo, and Samburu counties have fallen victim to the masquerading lawyers working with the rogue government officials.
During the raids conducted at the weekend, LSK and detectives arrested two suspected masqueraders, a man and a woman, operating from law firms whose lawyers work in Kiambu and Nairobi counties.
Both offices were located at strategic positions, one a few metres from the Nyahururu Law Courts and one near the Lands ministry offices.
“The two names, as indicated in the signage, are members of the LSK, but the masqueraders operate the offices under their names, yet they are not in the LSK roll," said Mr Stephen Mbugua, a lawyer from the LSK Nairobi office, who was in charge of the operation assisted by Laikipia branch chairperson Maureen Wanjiru.
"These transactions include preparation, rubber stamping and signing of court documents,” he added.
He also revealed that some of the lawyers whose names were used in the signage have not fully complied with LSK regulations.
Investigators found rubber stamps belonging to lawyers in other towns, such as Nyeri, along with documents the imposters illegally created.
Victims have lost money and property in transactions officiated by fake lawyers, colluding with chiefs and Lands ministry officials, leading to public outcry that attracted the LSK's attention.
"We’ve found that the lawyers are unaware of, and haven’t consented to, the use of their rubber stamps. We will escalate the investigations to LSK-registered lawyers suspected of involvement in the racket and aiding the illegal transactions. We are concerned that some of the law firms owned by LSK members are illegally operating in Laikipia, without the consent or knowledge of the regulatory body, it’s such offices that aid in illegal transactions,” said Mr Mbugua.
He said investigators would extend the investigation to other government officers involved in the con operation.
“The masqueraders specialise in land transactions and succession cases. In the files we recovered and impounded, there is one specific chief who is notoriously involved in lands and succession matters. We expect the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to take action and arrest the chiefs as accomplices of the fake lawyers.”
The suspects also had active cases in courts, which LSK officials said would collapse, leading to huge losses for the litigants.
In the first raid, there was drama as one of the suspects made frantic efforts to contact lawyers while pleading for mercy from the LSK officials.
“We just draft the documents and affidavits which are signed by other lawyers and commissioners for oath,” claimed the suspect.
But the LSK officials, armed with prior evidence and recovery of documents and receipts, dismissed his explanations and handed him over to the police for arrest and detention at Nyahururu Police Station, awaiting arraignment.
Mr Mbugua said the two suspects had masqueraded for a very long time.
“They were preparing documents that have very serious consequences in courts, and yet they do not qualify to do so. The other astonishing part is that some of the advocate’s stamps that are being used there are for persons that are from other towns far away from here, and they do not have knowledge of consent that their stamps are being used by the arrested persons. The efforts by LSK to curb masquerading are not going to end,” said Mr Mbugua.
The LSK said it would also take action against lawyers allowing clerks and unqualified persons to operate their satellite offices because it’s against LSK laws to allow anyone not qualified to practice in the advocate’s offices.
Ms Wanjiru, the Laikipia LSK Chapter chairperson, said many residents had lost property due to the masquerades.
“We have arrested two notorious masquerades, which I believe will be a new beginning for the Laikipia chapter. The public must be aware that clerks are not allowed to prepare any legal document,” said Ms Wanjiru.
"The masqueraders specialise in succession matters, which has been a very serious issue even in our courts. We are finding it very difficult where you find people who are not advocates have drafted documents and they end up affecting an entire estate,” she added.
Another area inflated by the quacks, she said, is affidavits, where one may want to change their names.
"A non-advocate drafting such affidavits affects even the person who swore to the affidavit in civil cases. In a land sale or purchase agreement, if a fraudster creates the agreement and it’s breached, leading to litigation, the affidavits will be legally insufficient, causing the case to fail."
