Prominent lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi was on Wednesday, May 20, elected as the Chairman of Senior Counsel Committee.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, the lawyer stated the was elected to head the exclusive club of elite lawyers for a period of two years.
"The main task is in how to increase the number. The president actually appoints senior counsels but it is on the recommendation of this committee.
"The last time there was a committee, some people went to court and they stopped it. So we want to untangle that process and increase the number of senior counsels from the current 25 which are too few," Ahmednasir told our newsdesk.
He added that there was a need for a bigger number of senior counsels for the betterment of the legal profession.
A couple of lawyers took to their social media accounts to congratulate the lawyer for his election.
"This is to congratulate my friend Ahmednasir on his election today as the Chairman of Senior Counsel Committee. As usual, his leadership brings transformative leadership that brings both joy and tears to opposing ideologies in the Legal Profession. May Allah bless you," Lawyer Donald Kipkorir stated.
"Congratulations to SC Ahmednasir, the Chairman of the Senior Counsels' Committee," Senior Counsel Tom Ojieda expressed.
The Senior Counsel committee is responsible for selecting lawyers for conferment of the rank before the names are forwarded to the Chief Justice who then transmits the same to President Uhuru Kenyatta for gazetting.
Conferment of the Senior Counsel status in Kenya is the highest a lawyer can achieve locally.
Besides the prestigious title, cases presented by lawyers conferred with the title are given priority in court even when they are listed last.
For one to qualify for the title, a lawyer must have argued at least 10 High Court and five Supreme Court or Court of Appeal cases.
