The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has condemned the death threats issued to lawyer Charles Kanjama over the attempted murder of Garissa Finance chief executive Idriss Mukhtar.
LSK says it will seek private prosecution of those who issued the death threats to Kanjama, LSK Nairobi branch Chairperson.
In a press briefing on 5th September, LSK Nairobi vice Chair Paula Njuguna said Njuguna said the threats on Kanjama will not intimidate the over 7,000 registered lawyers from representing clients in courts of law.
On behalf of Mukhtar, the lawyer was preparing to challenge Garissa Governor Ali Korane’s suitability to serve on grounds that he presented forged certificates for clearance to seek the elective office.
She called on State agencies to move with speed so as to safeguard the safety of lawyers saying that a threat to a lawyer in the line of duty is a threat to the rule of law.
Death threats of lawyers Willie Kimani, Jared Ratemo, Antony Ngunjiri, and Stephen Mburu were cited as case scenarios where lawyers had been murdered for executing their mandates.
LSK expressed concern over the sudden death of a key suspect in the attempted assassination of Mukhtar at the Parklands Police Station cells on last week.
Njuguna recommended that “due to the sensitive nature of the case, and the recent death of a key suspect, David Mwai, who allegedly committed suicide in a police cell, that all witnesses to this case be placed under Witness Protection during the period in which the proceedings are ongoing”.
A postmortem conducted on Mwai confirmed that he had died of strangulation but it was not clear whether it was a case of suicide or homicide.
Police Spokesperson Charles Owino ruled out cover-up attempts and maintained that the suspect took his own life by hanging himself in the bathroom of the police station.
The bar association warned that should State agencies fail to bring the culprits involved in the assassination attempt of Mukhtar to book, the association will launch a private prosecution of individuals who may be culpable.
They are further set to hold peaceful protests to compel the state to act against individuals who allegedly threatened the lawyer.
