Four law firms operated by individuals without official accreditation from the Law Society of Kenya(LSK) have been shut down in Garissa County.
Speaking to the press after raid, LSK Council Member Steve Mbugua said that the firms were operating without any form of legal registration and those operating them have been arrested.
He added that the individuals running the illegal firms were using them to swindle unsuspecting clients.
“Most of their offices were issued notices to comply, which is a requirement in LSK regulations 2020, that every law firm, every office of the advocates in the country must be manned with an advocate who is licensed and registered for that particular office,” Mbugua said.
According to Mbugua, the individuals are conning members of the public by pretending to be lawyers and drafting crucial documents.
“These offices that have not complied, we have arrested all those who have been masquerading,” Mbugua said.
This is part of the ongoing crackdown on the law firms operating illegally in the country. Five individuals accused of masquerading as lawyers for the last 13 years were apprehended in Bungoma on June 5, 2025.
"The individuals have been running four separate law firms. Unfortunately, these offices have been there for quite some time, since 2013, and we have realised that they have been conning members of the public of millions of shillings," Mbugua said.
The individuals were operating unlawfully, representing clients in both virtual and physical courts without being detected.
On June 20, the LSK arrested several lawyers who had been operating illegally in Uasin Gichu County for 7 years.
"The individual whom we have arrested has been here for more than 7 years. Running an organisation in the disguise of a human rights organisation,” he said.
Mbugua had assured that the society will be at the vanguard in weeding out such individuals, who face up to three years in prison, in a bid to reinforce professionalism and integrity in the legal ecosystem.
