The Law Society of Kenya in Bomet has warned residents to be wary of quacks presenting themselves as lawyers to help in land deals, succession and other issues.
More and more swindlers purport to offer legal services but con residents out of a lot of money, branch chairman Kadet Kiprono told reporters on Friday.
Before committing, people must check out anyone purporting to be a lawyer offering to help them, he said. Many pretend to work for legitimate law firms.
The county has about 30 registered lawyers and 10 law firms but the number of people pretending to be High Court advocates has “surged”, Kiprono said.
“We are emphsising that our people must be cautious so they don’t fall for tricks and enter into shady deals, getting swindled out of a lot of money,” Kiprono said.
He added, “The services offered by these fake lawyers are useless whenever they are discovered. By the time they are discovered, one will have lost a colossal amount of money.
The LSK is working with security offices so these frauds face legal action, Kiprono said.
He urged residents to report cons to the LSK.
Many gullible resident have been double-crossed by fake lawyers in land succession cases, the lawyer said.
He asked those intending to buy or sell land to consult and seek services from genuine advocates and registered with the LSK and do their due diligence.
There is no point buying land that does not have a clean title, otherwise, the real owner can sue and reposses, the LSK boss said. The value of development by duped ‘buyers’ will be lost.