Former Law Society of Kenya president Nelson Havi has tossed his hat in the ring for the presidency of a regional lawyers lobby.
He is running to lead the East Africa Law Society whose election is slated for November 30 in Uganda.
East Africa Law Society is the apex regional bar association of East Africa jointly founded in 1995 by a group of lawyers with the support of the leadership of the national bar associations of the member states.
It has more than 28,000 lawyers as members as well as corporate membership of national bar associations.
They include the Law Society of Kenya, Tanganyika Law Society, Uganda Law Society, Zanzibar Law Society, Rwanda Bar Association, Burundi Bar Association and the South Sudan Bar Association.
Presidents of the national bar associations sit in its council. The leadership of the lobby is rotational and it is Nairobi’s turn to produce the president.
Havi told the Star he is counting on his performance when he led the LSK to convince the Kenyan delegation to elect him.
“During the AGM of the EALS, there will be a breakout session of Kenyan lawyers and I will convince them to elect me as their leader on November 30. I have served lawyers before and I’m sure they know the region needs a person with the profile and courage to deliver,” he told the Star in his Parklands offices.
Current president Faiz Twaib is from Tanzania and is a retired High Court judge. Previous presidents of the society from Kenya include Aggrey Mwamu, Benard Oundo and Tom Ojienda.
Havi said his track record fits with the credentials of the past occupants of the office and it is time to elevate the society to another level.
“The work I did as the 49th president of the society is self-evident. We must cascade that energy, competence and courage to the East African region to ensure alignment with constitutionalism, the rule of law, democracy and observance of human rights. These are key paradigms that our communities depend on and they count no lawyers to stand up for them,” he said.
Havi said that during his tenure at LSK, he established working networks with the regional bar associations and this will be key in delivering for the society, should he be elected.
“I will ask the Kenyan delegation to elevate me to this position so we sustain the spirit of the brave new bar in the regional level,” he said.
The lobby says its objective is “to fast track the integration of East African communities through targeted support to cross-border commerce, the legal profession, civil societies, business communities and governments.”
Membership to the lobby guarantees lawyers unlimited access to a huge regional and international network of contacts and unique learning opportunities.
It also gives them the chance to actively participate
in discussions on development of regional and international legal practice.