Deputy President William Ruto, who is linked to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), has unveiled 50 young lawyers to defend him and the party’s agenda.
Dubbed ‘UDA Lawyers Brigade’, the team led by UDA Secretary in charge of Legal Affairs Edward Muriu addressed the media on Monday, December 20.
The attorneys were tasked with upholding the rule of law and safeguarding the Constitution which has been a major challenge in President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto’s reign.
"This is a group of about 50 lawyers who subscribe to the bottom-up economic model under the leadership of William Samoei Ruto and have volunteered their services to the party and the Hustler Movement.
"Youth empowerment is a key pillar of Bottom-Up economic model and as a party, it’s our duty and responsibility to bring the young lawyers together, expose them to potential clients, give them challenging assignments, mentor them to be brave soldiers fighting for democracy and rule of law for the benefit of all the hustlers in the republic,” Muiru detailed.
Their first assignments will entail protecting the common mwananchi against the State.
One of the major cases in contention is the debate centred around the approval of the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021, by MPs in Parliament which will pave the way for the formation of coalitions ahead of the 2022 General Election.
The bill, which is sponsored by Majority leader Amos Kimunya, is said to have the backing of President Kenyatta and his handshake partner and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader, Raila Odinga.
“It seeks to replace political party with coalition of political parties,” the bill reads.
UDA allies questioned the timing behind the bill whose second reading will be held on December 21 and 22. Raila unveiled the Azimio la Umoja coalition movement on Friday, December 10 and has the support of a number of local parties.
Ruto has been opposed to the formation of a coalition and has always urged those who want to jump on his UDA bandwagon to fold their parties. The DP termed coalition parties tribal. However, his critics argued that joining one party such as UDA was dictatorial and an infringement on multi-partyism in Kenya.
The group of 50 lawyers is also expected to conduct pro bono cases, review legal actions around criminal justice, tax law, employment law case subjected to UDA allied politicians.
Since his fallout with President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ruto has constantly alleged that independent bodies such as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Judiciary, the Assets and the Recovery Agency (Agency) have been used to frustrate his ambitions.
He added that those allied to him were also caught up in between the wrangle and were targets of the state.
Among the young lawyers are UDA Secretary General Veronica Maina and Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi.
Havi, who aspires to vie for the Westlands Parliamentary seat under the UDA, has been instrumental in the fight against the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) spearheaded by President Kenyatta and Raila.
"The BBI bill which was an attempt to dismember the Constitution was resisted," Havi recalled while addressing the media on Monday, December 20 after UDA unveiled the 50 lawyers.
