The Law Society of Kenya has asked the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to arrest a man who has been masquerading as a lawyer and representing clients in court.

LSK made the move as Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) came to the defense of the man identified as Brian Mwenda Njagi saying he should not be condemned for practicing law without the traditional law qualifications and licence.

“Our preliminary findings indicate that Njagi used the credential of a lawyer working at the office of the Attorney General to gain access to the LSK portal, took control, changed his picture and workplace, and applied for the practicing certificate,” said LSK president Eric Theuri. 

Theuri said the LSK Council convened an emergency meeting on Thursday evening after it was revealed Njagi had been masquerading as a lawyer and representing clients.

According to LSK, Njagi hacked into the system using the credentials of one Brian Mwenda Ntwiga who works at the State Law Office and had not applied for a practicing certificate since he is a State officer. 

“Ntwiga confirmed that he had not applied for a practicing certificate since his admission in 2022 since he worked at the AG’s office and didn’t require the licence. It was only until September when he attempted to log into the system that he discovered someone had changed it,” said Theuri.

Theuri said they discovered Njagi applied a common international fraud scheme known as Business Email Compromise to identify the account of Ntwiga which was inactive and used it to register himself.

However, COTU Secretary-general Francis Atwoli in a statement said they stand with Njagi and will do anything to help him achieve his dream of being a lawyer. 

“He is a brilliant young Kenyan who should not face the condemnation. As COTU, we call upon the government to take this opportunity to actualise Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) which is a proven mechanism for recognising the diverse learning pathways of our citizens,” said Atwoli.

Atwoli said Njagi’s case raises critical questions about the accessibility and inclusivity of professions and that if it is true he has been practicing law and successfully representing clients in legal matters then his knowledge, skills, and competencies in the field of law should not be ignored. 

According to the trade unionist, Kenya is home to a multitude of highly skilled and talented youth who have acquired their expertise through practical experience, self-study, and non-formal educational avenues. By Paul Ogemba, The Standard

The governments of South Sudan and Uganda have raised concerns over multiple identification and citizenship within the two countries which jeopardise efforts to consolidate cross-border security and perpetuate the tension.

The two sisterly countries have also continued to raise concerns about rampant incidences of insecurity along the Kaya border, the Uganda daily newspaper reported yesterday.

According to Mr. Bosco Wani, the Executive Director of Morobo County in Central Equatoria State, some suspects at the border of Kaya can cross to South Sudan with Ugandan identity cards and when they commit crimes; they run back claiming they are Ugandans.

“We have our brothers along these borders who cross to work in South Sudan with Ugandan identity cards and when they reach there, they claim to be South Sudanese. And when they are caught up in problems, they run back to Uganda that they are Ugandans,” he said.

He said citizens travelling from any of the two countries should be well-identified at the border by the local leaders and be given permits so that it becomes easy to track them. 

The Koboko Resident District Commissioner, Mr Emmy Mitala, observed that the situation is tricky to deal with because of the nature of the location of the district and the numerous porous border points.

“We understand that there are people who have two to three identities, one for Uganda, one for South Sudan and one for DR Congo. This makes it tricky for us to implement certain things. And they speak the same language in those three countries,” he said.

According to the Uganda’s Refugee Desk officer of Arua in the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Solomon Osakan, the practice of dual citizenship is legal according to the laws of Uganda adding that some of the criminal gangs disguise themselves as refugees from South Sudan. 

“You know people who reside along the borders and have relatives across the other side can do funny things. They can register in Uganda and the other country, so they have dual citizenship. That is why we had requested the government to allow us to run the data of National Identity cards together with the refugee identity cards so that we see who has double registration,” he said.

Border breaches

The two countries have endured endless border tension with Ugandan forces being blamed as the consistent aggressors.

For instance, September this year, a lawmaker representing Kajo Keji County in Central Equatoria State complained over alleged deployment of the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) in the border areas.

James Duku claimed the UPDF had evicted South Sudanese from the areas and prevented movements on both sides of the border.

This prompted the National Assembly to quickly summon the national ministers charged with diplomatic issues and security to come to the Parliament and explain their efforts in addressing the matter. 

The Speaker of Parliament, Jemma Nunu Kumba, emphasized that the ministers of interior (Angelina Teny), Defense (Chol Balok), foreign affairs (Pitia Morgan) are to answer queries on the issue of the South Sudan-Uganda border tension.

“This motion requests that the Government of South Sudan urgently engage the Government of Uganda through Presidential or Diplomatic mechanisms to de-escalate the current security situation and carnage, as well as to determine the right of ancestral ownership lands claimed by the Ma’di and Aringa people of Uganda along the South Sudan-Uganda border for permanent settlement of the land issues prior to the completion of the final delimitation and demarcation of the border,” Duku who tabled the motion argued. 

Earlier this month, a South Sudanese media reported that the Uganda President Yoweri Museveni send two ministers to Yumbe and Moyo districts to address the border issues. This came in the wake of negotiations with a committee formed by the Central Equatoria State governor Emmanuel Adil, which reached a deal with Ugandan authorities to hand over 13 arrested Ugandans in exchange of the chief of Bori Boma of Kajo-Keji County. By Matia Samuel, The City Review

National Social Security Fund (NSSF) managing director, Patrick Ayota has asked court to exercise its discretion in the interest of justice to favour the stability of the fund.

Ayota told the High court civil division that it should guard against what he described as “unmeritorious cries of a single disgruntled person whose recommendation was rejected based on sound, cogent reasons.”  

Ayota further stated that the Shs 18 trillion fund is at risk of misuse and stagnation and warned that it would be against the public interest for the fund to go without strategic leadership. He appeared before justice Musa Sekaana on Thursday in relation to a suit filed by his predecessor, Richard Byarugaba who has been fighting to reclaim his job at NSSF.   

Ayota swore a 38-paragraph affidavit drawn by Kampala Associated Advocates in which he defended the Gender, Labour, and Social Development minister, Betty Amongi for appointing him as NSSF managing director to replace Byarugaba whose contract had expired. In August 2023, Byarugaba filed a petition against the Attorney General and Amongi, seeking court orders for Amongi to fulfill her statutory duties and complete his reappointment as the NSSF MD, as recommended by the board and required by the law.    

Byarugaba’s argument is based on procedural irregularities and the decision leading the minister to the board’s recommendation for his reappointment. He said there was a violation of his legitimate expectations by not affording him a fair hearing. He further went on to say that Ayota was not fit to head NSSF.

In the affidavit, Ayota fired back at his former boss saying that he (Ayota) has all the requisite competencies and work experience to serve as managing director of NSSF. Ayota through his lawyers led by Elison Karuhanga, says the interests of justice for the entire countrywide membership of the fund override any purported interest that Byarugaba has in a leadership position that he was found unfit to occupy.

He says that in the interest of justice, Byarugaba’s appointment should not be granted. He argued that if granted, there would be a leadership lacuna that could put the whole fund in limbo without a substantive accounting officer to safeguard members' savings. Ayota says his appointment was done lawfully, is valid, and was not done to defeat the present application for judicial as alleged by Byarugaba.

"That I know that the instant application and its supporting affidavits do not raise any act or commission attributed to me personally for which I am being faulted and I am advised by my aforementioned lawyers that the application does not disclose any cause of action against me as alleged or at all".  

He says now in the interest of justice, fairness, and equity, Byarugaba's application should be dismissed with costs. Byarugaba served as NSSF MD since August 1, 2010, and his second appointment began on November 29, 2017 expired on November 30, 2022. Byarugaba contends that even before his second contract could run its course, Amongi attempted to prematurely end it by stating that he should have retired upon reaching 60 years of age.

He adds that only with the intervention of the Attorney General was he able to complete his second term of office. The NSSF board of directors had recommended renewing the contracts of both Byarugaba and his then-deputy Ayota. However, Amongi renewed only the contract of Ayota and deferred Byarugaba’s appointment, citing various allegations, including financial impropriety, collusion with contractors, defiance of presidential directives, and corruption.      

Despite meetings at State House on December 6, 2022, and receiving guidance from President Yoweri Museveni to conclude Byarugaba’s appointment process, Amongi did not follow the guidance. Byarugaba argues that this, along with ignoring the February 2023 report of the parliamentary select committee on the state of affairs at NSSF where he was cleared of financial impropriety allegations, makes the decision not to renew his contract illegal, irrational, and procedurally incorrect. 

According to Byarugaba, the decision also disregarded the Inspector General of Government’s report, which cleared him of allegations and supported the board’s recommendation based on his previous performance in office. However, as the matter was pending in court, Amongi elevated Ayota and appointed him as the managing director of the fund. 

Byarugaba then asked the court to allow him to amend his petition and include Ayota as the third respondent such that he could be given a fair hearing and defend himself over the allegations. His application succeeded and the matter returned to court for a follow-up on amendment to see if they were effected as ordered by the judge.

In his application, Byarugaba argues that Ayota was appointed on August 18, 2023, while holding the substantive statutory position of deputy MD on a fixed five-year term, making him ineligible for the MD appointment. Through his lawyers led by Anthony Bazira, Byarugaba requested the court to invalidate Ayota’s appointment and issue a permanent injunction to prevent Ayota from acting as the MD of the fund.

Justice Ssekaana after hearing the parties adjourned the case for one week and directed that the parties file any other documents to enable the court to give further guidance on the case. He directed that the lawyers representing Byarugaba, the Attorney General, Amongi and Ayota file their written submissions in the case and return on December 4 for mention.

Records indicate that NSSF, under Byarugaba’s and his deputy Ayota's leadership, currently has 2,000,000 members and assets worth Shs 18 trillion. Based on this performance, Byarugaba is seeking to have the decision not to renew his contract set aside.  By URN / The Observer