An alleged fake lawyer was arrested by authorities on claims that he falsely presented himself as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.
According to media reports, the lawyer had battled 26 cases before High Court Judges, Magistrates, and Court of Appeal Judges before his arrest, and he won all of them.
In a statement, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) said that the man was neither an advocate of the High Court of Kenya nor a member of the LSK Nairobi Branch.
"It has been brought to the attention of the LSK Nairobi Branch through the Rapid Action Team (RAT), that the man has been presenting and conducting himself as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a member of LSK Nairobi Branch, LSK posted on X.
The branch has urged anyone who has been defrauded by Mwenda to come forward with information.
Social media users have reacted to the incident and called him Mike Ross from Suits in real life. What happens to the cases that he won on merit before learned judges and magistrates?, a user said on X. And people have also suggested that he has made enough money he should go to law school.
However, according to media reports, Mwenda is now in police custody, facing charges of impersonation, and obtaining money by false pretenses.
The case highlights the need for tightening of the processes for verifying lawyers qualifications.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra had expressed concern over fake lawyers. Speaking at Lawyers Meet-2015, organized by BCI in Chennai, Mishra pointed out that 30% of all lawyers in India are fake, holding fraudulent law degrees.
The council, which is statutorily empowered to discipline errant lawyers and take action against them, was in the process of weeding them out, he added.
