LSK and employer tell State to produce lawyer
The president of the Law Society of Kenya's Rift Valley branch, Francis Mwangi (centre), with other members of the body at the Nakuru Law Courts on June 30, 2016 demand action be taken to find missing lawyer Willie Kimani, his client Josephat Mwendwa and their driver Joseph Muiruri who all went missing a week ago. Mr Mwangi said that lawyers had faced, among other challenges, numerous threats while handling cases touching on police officers. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The LSK filed a petition as Willie Kimani's employer, the International Justice Mission, called on foreign embassies in Nairobi to push the government to speed up investigations into the matter.
- LSK chairman Isaac Okero told the Nation that his organisation had instructed lawyers to file the request to have the government either produce Mr Kimani or indicate his whereabouts.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has filed a petition seeking to force the government to produce Willie Kimani, the lawyer who mysteriously disappeared last week in the company of his client and a taxi driver.
The LSK made the demand as Mr Kimani’s employer, the International Justice Mission (IJM), called on foreign embassies in Nairobi to push the government to speed up investigations into the matter.
“IJM strongly condemns such a wanton horrific act and calls for the immediate unharmed release of the three individuals,” IJM-Kenya Field Office Director Claire Wilkinson told the Nation on Thursday evening. “We are requesting embassies in Kenya to continue to advocate with the government for the release of the three men unharmed immediately and arrest the criminals behind this incident.”
LSK chairman Isaac Okero told the Nation on telephone that his organisation had instructed lawyers to file the request to have the government either produce Mr Kimani or indicate his whereabouts.
“That petition has been filed this afternoon as we speak and our lawyers have been directed to serve the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General for a hearing tomorrow (Friday) at 9am,” he said.
The petition, known in legal jargon as harbeas corpus, is generally a summons with a force of a court order where people seek the court’s hand to have someone, who is illegally detained (often by the State) to be released. It also demands to know the exact efforts being made by the State in tracing the missing person.
