Unveiling Attacks on Rai Lawyers: LSK Investigation
Eric Theuri, the president of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), asserts that anonymous individuals have threatened attorneys representing billionaire Jaswant Rai and other sugar industry tycoons.
Theuri, speaking to the press in Nairobi on Tuesday, insisted that the Law Society of Kenya will support the attorneys and implored them to ensure that the case is handled properly.
The LSK President stated that there have been attempts to intimidate the attorneys who handled these cases on behalf of the litigants before the court.
“As LSK, we remind them that they swore to administer justice without fear or favor. We ensure them that LSK will stand by them if they are intimidated while performing their duties.”
The society, flanked by HAKI Africa’s leader Hussein Khalid, demanded an apology from the President for his remarks on the case.
They argued that Ruto should allow the court’s process to play out and desist from making public statements implicating individuals in criminal activity.
In addition to retracting and apologizing for his remarks, the President should allow the legal process to run its course to its logical conclusion, he said.
“To intervene in these processes (of the law) before the court’s decision is to undermine the rule of law and the court’s authority as an impartial arbitrator,”
In a statement made during his tour of Western Kenya, the head of state issued cartels associated with the sugar industry an ultimatum: abandon the country or meet their maker.
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“There are factions in that region. I’ve instructed them to depart. The organization is owned by the people, and we will optimize it. There is no case in that regard. If they want a conflict, they should leave Kenya, or I will jail them, or they should go to heaven,” he said, to the chagrin of opposition leaders and legal experts.
In his statement, Theuri also accused Ruto of reneging on his pledge to combat a rogue police unit purportedly responsible for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
According to the society, the Head of State disbanded the force as soon as he assumed power on its advice.
“What concerns us is that he has made a complete 180-degree turn. He has lost interest in seeking accountability. Theuri lamented, “On the other hand, he is more than willing and ready to use the same methods to achieve whatever goals they have.”
“We are making an impassioned appeal to the President to exercise their authority within the four corners of the Constitution.
Ruto’s death threats to sugar barons occurred a few hours after Rai was abducted and subsequently released by unknown men. Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) also detained the CEO of a local bank, who was accused of aiding Rai in money laundering.
Under enigmatic circumstances, Rai was abducted on Friday and released on Sunday evening. President Ruto publicly asserted that Rai was impeding the government’s efforts to revitalize sugar enterprises in the Western regions.
Unveiling Attacks on Rai Lawyers: LSK Investigation
