Brian Mwenda arraigned in court

By Peter Ochieng

Suspected fake lawyer Brian Mwenda Njagi was arraigned in court on Wednesday, after his arrest over claims of practising without a certificate.

He was charged with six counts, among them uttering a false document, making a false document, as well as practicing minus a certificate.

Njagi was arraigned before Nairobi Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina, where he pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

He is being represented led by among others, John Khaminwa and Danstan Omari.

The advocates had earlier objected to the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) appearing in court against their client.

"LSK cannot be part an parcel of this proceedings...they can only hire but not to be on record," they stated.

The alleged fake lawyer was unmasked last week by the LSK Nairobi branch rapid response team.

LSK president Eric Theuri vowed to ensure that the suspect is prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others with similar motives.

"Brian Mwenda Njagi is now at DCI. We are going to ensure that he faces the full force of the Law. The evidence gathered so far points to several cases of forgery & identity theft. Further inquiries are ongoing. We are working closely with the DCI team to conduct thorough & extensive investigations. This case will be a deterrent for future masqueraders," he wrote on X a day ago.

The LSK boss also denied claims that Mwenda had won 26 cases before magistrate, high court and court of appeal judges before he met his waterloo.

"Allegations that the masquerader Brian Mwenda won 26 cases is false & misleading. There is no factual basis to support the misleading claims. Efforts to apprend him are in high gear & we are optimistic that he will be brought to book."

However, Mwenda has gotten the backing of among others, COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli and former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko, who have vowed to support him.