LSK Strongly Defends Ahmednasir, Files Petition To Quash Supreme Court's Ban: "Unreasonable"

 

The row between Supreme Court judges and Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi has taken another twist after the Law Society of Kenya came to the defence of the vocal lawyer. Chief Justice Martha Koome and Senior Counsel Ahmednasir.  LSK files petition to defend Ahmednasir from Supreme Court's ban LSK has now filed a petition against the decision by the Supreme Court judges to ban the lawyer from appearing before the apex court, terming the decision unconstitutional. To make their threat real, six Supreme Court judges recused themselves from a KSh 2 billion graft case in which Ahmednasir was a party. The judges had unanimously stated that they would not give an audience to Ahmednasir, his law firm employees, or those holding briefs for him. Ahmednasir condemned unheard According to the LSK, the court's decision to deny Ahmednasir an audience was unconstitutional and unreasonable. The lawyer's body accuses the Supreme Court of deciding without allowing the lawyer and his firm to defend themselves. LSK's petition has been filed under a certificate of urgency and questions why the judges failed to consider other redress options in dealing with Ahmednasir's case.  Further, the LSK criticised the court's decision to overlook the harm that its decision would cause to Ahemdnasir, his employees, and his clients. "Democratic countries require tolerance, pluralism, and broadmindedness, which, respectfully, the Supreme Court has failed to exercise," the petition reads. Ahmednasir's contribution to judiciary reforms LSK also noted that Ahmednasir vocally called out corruption in the judiciary in the 1990s and 2000s, resulting in the dismissal of 23 judges, some of whom the lawyer had named and shamed. The society is demanding that the decision by the Supreme Court judges be unconditionally quashed. Ahmednasir had also indicated that he would contest the decision in the East African Court of Justice. Ahmednasir battles with the Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Kenya formally wrote to senior counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi, informing him they would not give him, his law firm, or his representatives an audience. The lawyer vowed to contest the decision at the East African Court of Justice, reiterating that he did not have faith in Kenyan judges, whom he described as incompetent and corrupt. Judges of the Supreme Court made their threat real after recusing themselves from a case in which Ahmednasir was a party. Ahmednasir, in a bare-knuckle rejoinder, vowed that he would never appear before the Supreme Court until Chief Justice Martha Koome and three other judges exit.

by  Michael Ollinga Oruko