Brian Mwenda: LSK Exposes Fake Lawyer Thought To Woo Women With Good Looks

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Nairobi branch has cautioned members of the public against a man allegedly posing as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya to defraud unsuspecting clients.

The LSK Nairobi Branch issued a statement on Thursday, October 12 dismissing Brian Mwenda Njagi as an advocate of the High Court and a member of its branch.

"Notice: It has been brought to the attention of the LSK Nairobi Branch through the Rapid Action Team (RAT), that the above-pictured person has been presenting and conducting himself as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a member of LSK Nairobi Branch," stated LSK on its X (formerly Twitter) account.

"The Branch wishes to notify all members of the society and the public that BRIAN MWENDA NJAGI is not an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, from the Society’s records, neither is he a member of the Branch."

A photo of Brian Mwenda Njagi flagged by the Law Society of Kenya-Nairobi branch as a fake lawyer. /LSK NAIROBI

LSK further encouraged members to share any information regarding any person masquerading as an Advocate for necessary action.

The LSK Nairobi branch added that it is committed to upholding the integrity and professionalism of the legal profession and protecting the public from fraudsters.

Some reports indicated that the lawyer garnered notoriety for his suave appearance, impeccably groomed facial hair, and mastery of sartorial finesse, which earned him quick admiration among the opposite sex. Viral Tea was unable to independently verify this.

However, on the wrong side, Mwenda was reported to have harassed police officers, caused chaos at LSK events, and even appeared in televised court proceedings.

Viral Tea stumbled on a live-streamed KTN News video showing him representing former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga in court a few months back after he was arrested in connection with the anti-government demonstrations.

A spot check on the LSK portal revealed two names similar to Brian Mwenda, but none matching the facial description of the fake lawyer exposed by the society. The practising status of the duo varied, with one labelled active and the other inactive, having had their practising years indicated as 2023.

Admission of lawyers to the bar marks a transition from studies to practising what they have been studying. However, law happens to be one of the most rigorous professions in Kenya and the world alongside medicine.

The rigorous training is hinged on the importance of the services these professionals offer and the delicate nature of the issues they need to handle.

The journey to the status of a lawyer and an Advocate of the High Court in Kenya begins in high school after one completes primary education and transitions to this level.

Any student who wants to pursue a bachelor's degree in Law (LLB) needs to excel in language subjects, in the Kenyan context, Kiswahili and English. Legal education legislations demand that before undertaking LLB one must have scored a mean grade of at least a C+ in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) with a B in either English or Kiswahili.

The exclusivity of law is that it cannot be studied on a crash programme basis and students mandatorily study for four years.

Once one has completed their undergraduate degree in law they are identified as a lawyer, however, it does not entitle one to practice law, especially representing clients in the courtrooms, even though one can work as a researcher in a law firm.

“After completing your undergraduate studies one is supposed to enrol to the Advocates Training Programme at the Kenya School of Law (KSL). Here is where you study to become an Advocate of the High. The programme takes 18 months inclusive of pupillage,” an advocate explained in a past interview.

“A lawyer cannot practice in court and cannot draw documents. The only option is to be a researcher or join academia while an Advocate of the High Court is a licensed lawyer who can do everything under the Advocates Act like representing clients, drawing and commissioning documents."

For one to transition from this level, one must pass exams on all nine legal subjects at the Kenya School of Law (KSL). One needs to get at least 50 per cent per unit with oral examinations accounting for 20 per cent which is distributed among all the units and a project for every unit which accounts for 20 per cent.

Failing even a single exam at this training level means one must redo the paper until one passes it. It is after one passes their examinations at KSL and completes their pupillage that they can petition the Chief Justice (CJ) for admission to practice law in the country.

In territories like the United Kingdom, pupillage is a two-month training period for individuals who want to become barristers. These students will have to spend the 12 months in a barrister’s chamber and shadow cases of experienced barristers for six months and their own in the final six months.

Advocates have previously described the journey as a painstaking one which comes at the sacrifice of one's social life and devoting more time to study for the tough KSL exams.

Some of them described the journey to being an advocate as one filled with days and nights of reading as well as interacting with mentors and learning how they made it through the dreaded examinations.