Prestige, Process and Power: What It Means to Be a Senior Counsel in Kenya
Senior Counsel is the highest professional honour an advocate in Kenya can achieve...
✨ Key Highlights
The prestigious Senior Counsel designation in Kenya, an equivalent to Queen's Counsel, representing the highest professional honour for advocates, is currently facing significant challenges due to an inactive selection committee and a controversial proposed bill.
- The Committee on Senior Counsel, a ten-member body responsible for vetting candidates, has become "moribund" as the Senior Counsel Bar failed to nominate its three representatives whose two-year terms expired on July 23, 2024.
- Lawyer Francis Njoroge has filed a case against Dr. Fred Ojiambo, chair of the Senior Counsel Bar, for failing to convene a meeting to nominate the missing representatives, with the case now assigned to Justice Roseline Aburili for a mention on September 23, 2025.
- The Advocates Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, proposes shifting the power of conferment directly to the President, which the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) argues would politicize the rank and compromise the independence of the legal profession; the LSK has initiated a High Court case, with the next hearing set for July 30, 2025.
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Judicial Rulings and Legal Affairs in Kenya - July 2025
After a 15-year legal battle, a Nairobi man lost his bid to claim a share of his late grandfather’s property from his uncle, as the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court decision granting full ownership to his uncle. The Court of Appeal also upheld the mandatory Law Society of Kenya (LSK) membership for all advocates, dismissing an appeal challenging the Advocates Act and reaffirming the constitutional legitimacy of requiring LSK registration to practice law. The prestigious Senior Counsel designation in Kenya, equivalent to Queen's Counsel, is currently facing significant challenges due to an inactive selection committee and a controversial proposed bill, impacting the highest professional honor for advocates.
