Lawyer Omwanza on LSK job: Vote for me, I'll not let you down

Lawyer Omwanza Ombati has passionately appealed to 15,000 colleagues to elect him as the Law Society of Kenya’s male representative to the Judicial Service Commission.

Ombati will be facing outgoing LSK president Eric Theuri during the elections set for February 29, 2024.

It will be the second time the two lawyers will be facing off.

They were the main rivals in the 2022 LSK presidential election, in which Theuri prevailed.

Speaking at a press briefing, Ombati revealed that he intends to go for only one term.

He urged his colleagues to make good decisions at the poll highlighting that the JSC is a critical institution in the country.

“Make that decision consciously and ignore all the noise, and propaganda that will come with the campaigns,” he said.

He said lawyers should choose a competent representative, somebody who is visible and accountable to them.

“The decision they make as lawyers when choosing a representative is something they will remain with for five years, which is a long time,” he stated.

Ombati said he has been in the field for 20 years and understands what it takes to practice law from the tribunals to the Supreme Court.

“I know where the shoe pinches as a practitioner. I know how the issue of infrastructure, corruption, incompetence should be addressed for effective service delivery to Kenyans,” he added.

“When you go to the ballot, vote for me and I promise I will not let you down.”

Theuri, speaking when he presented his papers for clearance on January 15, 2024, said his focus is on helping reform the JSC to be responsive to the needs of advocates and ensure quick turnaround of cases to deal with the backlog.

Theuri added that he would also champion making it easier to hold judges accountable by going after those suspected of corruption, mainstreaming lifestyle audit of the judges and peer review so that judges can denounce their colleagues for the benefit of justice.