Kenya:You must have high integrity, lawyers told

By Samuel Ouma

Kenya's Chief Justice Martha Koome has called on advocates to act in a manner that upholds professional, personal, and social ethics.

The Chief Justice spoke on Monday during the admission of 96 lawyers to the Roll of Advocates of the High Court. The ceremony was held at the Supreme Court Gardens in Nairobi.

She urged the new lawyers to adhere to high ethical standards, especially when dealing with financial issues with clients.

“Money is important, but you will come to realize that when you come to my age that it doesn’t mean much as long as you have met your daily requirement. The excesses will not mean much as they will not give you the peace and the tranquility that you need,” said Chief Justice Martha Koome.

CJ Koome cautioned the 96 that they risk being struck off the list should be exhibit greedy in their line of duty.

“Such unethical conduct goes against the conduct the ethic of what we call in Kenya “utu”(humanity) that underlies our constitutional order. I hope yours will be the generation of lawyers that put a stop to such practice,” she added. 

She urged them to go the extra mile to ensure the marginalized in the society, such as the victims of Gender-Based Violence, have access to justice.

“I can assure you in the community you live [in] there is always something for us to do for either a child, teen or the youth in order to pull up one another. In the society you will find people who are in dire need for legal advice, go the extra mile to ensure the vulnerable access justice,” she said.

She further asked the newly admitted lawyers to offer solutions to the problem of case backlog and delayed delivery of Justice.