Brian Njagi Mwenda under investigation to ascertain whether he is a trained lawyer or just claiming to be one
Was it a case of cockiness or just being confident?
Or perhaps, Brian Njagi Mwenda had to hustle and after visiting several courtrooms, he discovered a place where he could earn his daily bread with little sweat?
Whatever the case, the matter is now under investigation by the police after it emerged that the much-talked-about 'lawyer' could have been a masquerader. The man appeared to love his job as he presented himself on behalf of many litigants and represented them.
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Renson Ingonga has directed the Inspector General of Police to investigate the matter and bring charges against him if found culpable.
"In response to the increased cases of this nature, I have directed the Inspector General of Police to undertake expedited comprehensive investigations in respect of the suspected case of identity theft of the said Brian Mwenda Ntwiga, among others, with the view to possible prosecution, upon criminal culpability being established," Mr Ingonga said.
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Mr Mwenda is said to have appeared in court several times and represented accused persons, presenting himself as an advocate of the High Court.
He was present when former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga and others appeared before a Makadara court and argued for one of the accused persons.
A photo doing rounds on social media shows him welcoming a new judicial officer at Thika Law Courts alongside other members of the Bar.
He would have continued plying his trade were it not for the real Brian Mwenda Ntwiga, an advocate, tried logging into the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) portal but encountered difficulties.
It was only after trying to log in to the system and activate his profile with the intention of applying for a practising certificate that he discovered that he could not access his LSK portal.
Mr Ntwiga alerted the ICT personnel and the secretariat of the LSK on September 28, who discovered that the email address on the portal was different from the one he had supplied to the lawyers' umbrella body last year.
The LSK noted that the real Mwenda, who is an advocate of the High Court, was admitted to the Bar in August last year.
An account was opened for him on the LSK portal and when asked about it, he said he had not applied for a practising certificate since he was admitted because he was working at the Attorney General's office, where a practising certificate is not required.
The LSK convened an emergency council meeting on October 12 to discuss the matter after it emerged that Mwenda had allegedly stolen the identity of their member, Mr Ntwiga.
The identity theft suspect has been practising as Brian Mwenda N. at a law firm based in Westlands, Nairobi.
"The ICT department resolved the issue and commissioned an internal investigation to determine how the email address could have been changed in breach of established protocols," LSK president Eric Theuri said in a statement.
It later emerged that the one claiming to be a lawyer used a fraudulent scheme known as Business Email Compromise by identifying a genuine advocate status as being inactive, then contacted the secretariat to make an application for payment from his end, but claimed that it was not successful because his email was incorrect.
And when he was granted access, he took control of the portal, changed his profile photo, workplace, applied and paid for a practising certificate. The application could not be processed because he was required to provide additional security measures.
"We wish to reiterate that our portal was not compromised and member's data remain safe and protected," Mr Theuri assured the LSK members.
He said the council had commissioned a review of the protocols for change of membership credentials to enhance internal control and approval mechanisms.
The LSK president further said they had invited the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to apprehend Mr Mwenda and his accomplices.
Mr Theuri said they will soon launch a model on their system that allows advocates to apply for their identity cards online with enhanced security features.
Mr Mwenda has received support from some quarters, including former LSK president Nelson Havi who said he could have practised law successfully without holding himself out as an advocate.
"After all, Okiya Omtatah has done so effortlessly, winning precedent-setting cases all the way to the Supreme Court and dwarfing many of us in the process. Besides, there are several decisions of the High Court proclaiming that “elimu sio msingi wa maendeleo nchini Kenya. Ama namna gani?” he said.
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Former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko offered to bail him out and sponsor him in law school if he does not have money.
For now, Mr Mwenda will have to answer questions from the authorities after the DPP said the legal profession is key to the fair administration of justice and peaceful settlement of disputes.
Kenyans, he said, therefore expect nothing less than utmost integrity within the legal practice.
The DPP said impersonation threatens not only the legal practice but the larger access to justice.
"Indeed they pose a serious threat to the practice of law and are likely to have committed various offences under the laws including an unqualified person acting as an advocate contrary to Section 31(1) and 2(c) of the Advocates Act, pretending to be an advocate contrary to Section 33 and 85 (1) of the Advocates Act and identity theft contrary to Section 29 of the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crimes Act," Mr Ingonga said.
There have been four other cases and the suspects arraigned for fraudulently running a law firm, impersonating and pretending to be an advocate among other charges. BY BUSINESS DAILY
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