A man who has been acting as a lawyer in Meru County for more than one yea has been arrested.
The man, James Kimathi Muthuri was arrested on Monday, a week after he went into hiding following a raid by the Law Society of Kenya at his office.
Appearing before Tigania Law Courts, Magistrate Rose Ongila , the accused denied charges of impersonation claiming that he is a law student and that he said the law firm he had been practicing under belonged to his uncle.
However, the LSK revealed that such offices did not exist in the registration of law firms.
“Muthuri has been masquerading as an advocate and indeed appeared before court number 3 and represented clients when he knows that he is not qualified,” Marias Maranya lawyer representing LSK said.
“He even had the audacity of opening a Law office in a market called Muriri but when LSK officials raided the office to seek the license, the man took off.”
Magistrate Rose
The suspect has been appearing before Magistrate Rose Ongila on all his cases, however, she defended herself arguing that she is a person of interest or otherwise a witness in the case.
The magistrate said that the matter will be mentioned before another court on May 2, 2023 for directions and issue of bond.
“The accused person appeared before this court on March 28,2023, acting as an advocate. It is clear from the above that I cannot hear or make any decision on the matter since potentially am a witness…so to promote fair hearing I rescue myself from handling this matter,” she said.
Mt. Kenya Region LSK Chairperson Mutuma Buria objected to the increasing numbers of impersonators in the Mt. Kenya region, calling upon LSK leadership to help identify such persons in the court.
He has urged the public to be alert to avoid being scammed by impersonators, he advised the public to consider verifying the credentials of advocates on the LSK website before being presented.
The accused has been detained for 14 days and denied bond.
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