The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has announced it will hold a nationwide purple ribbon march on Friday, September 12, to protest rising attacks on legal practitioners following the assassination of lawyer Kyalo Mbobu.
In a statement on Wednesday, LSK said the peaceful procession would begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Milimani Law Courts, proceed along Kenyatta Avenue, and end at Vigilance House, where a memorandum of grievances will be delivered to Police Inspector General Douglas Kanja.
Mbobu, a senior advocate with more than 30 years of experience, was fatally shot on Tuesday evening along Magadi Road, Nairobi. Assailants on a motorbike reportedly targeted his head before fleeing.
LSK President Faith Odhiambo said the march, organised in collaboration with all eight LSK branches, aims to highlight the growing dangers faced by legal professionals.
“Members are encouraged to attend and participate in the march and don the purple ribbon, in honour and solidarity,” she said.
The society also urged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to fast-track inquiries into Mbobu’s murder.
“Our security agencies have an immediate duty to act decisively in putting an end to this growing menace. Such calamitous levels of insecurity place our country at the precipice of lawlessness, a state we all bear a Constitutional duty to protect our country from,” Odhiambo said.
She added that the march will demand justice for the profession, stressing that violence and intimidation against lawyers must not continue.
“Too often, Advocates have been victimised and targeted for the work that they do. This incident and other acts of violence, intimidation and retribution against Advocates of the High Court of Kenya represent a damning test to the administration of Justice,” LSK said.
The Senior Counsel Bar (SCB), led by SC Philip Murgor, also condemned Mbobu’s killing, describing it as the work of a trained assassin.
The Bar pointed to a coincidental social media post by Captain (Rtd) Kung’u Muigai, a former client of Mbobu’s, referencing a 33-year-old land dispute on the very day the lawyer was killed.
“Is it a coincidence that he is then gunned down on the same day? Whatever the case, no stone should be left unturned by the DCI to ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to book,” Murgor said.
Muigai’s post referred to a disputed 443-acre farm in Thika dating back to the 1990s. He alleged judicial corruption and questioned why his multiple petitions had failed over the years. The Judiciary has since dismissed his claims.
