This was during a plea hearing for three suspects arrested within Kisii town, who were masquerading as advocates and offering services to clients at Cybercafes.
While on the dock, one of the suspects was represented by an unqualified advocate, Peter Ngeri Ouma, who, after an exchange with the prosecution, admitted that he did not possess a valid Certificate of Practice despite having applied for one.
The back-and-forth forced Senior Principal Magistrate Omwansa Benard to direct police officers within the courtroom to eject Ngeri and proceed to write a statement on why he was representing clients without accreditation papers.
“(To the police officers) You can take care of him (Ngeri) as he records a statement and the investigations to follow. In other words, you don’t have the audience without the certificate,” the Magistrate ruled.
The three accused were released on Ksh.50,000 bond with the case set for mention on November 13, 2025.
The prosecution, comprising the Law Society of Kenya Kisii Branch maintained that the crackdown would continue until all masqueraders are brought to book.
“We are appealing to everyone that those people are everywhere, not just in cybercafes. They are not only pretending to be advocates but also collecting money and tarnishing the names of our judicial officers,” the LSK stated.
