Man arrested for masquerading as a lawyer, issuing demand letter
A man was on February 20, 2024, arraigned before the Milimani Law Courts and charged with impersonating an advocate of the High Court and issuing a demand letter to unsuspecting members of the public.
According to the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Simon Githu Mbugua, 61, had issued a demand letter to a member of the public who had been conned of Sh20,000.
Serious Crime Unit detectives arrested the suspect on Monday at Muindi Mbingu Street in the Nairobi CBD after he had forwarded the demand letter claiming to be an advocate.
“Simon Githu Mbugua was arrested on Monday, February 19, 2024, at Muindi Mbingu Street in Nairobi CBD after writing and forwarding the demand letter while pretending to be Winny A. Ochwal Advocates – Commissioner for Oaths,” the DCI stated.
Detectives later searched his office in the CBD where a stamp bearing the name of the lawyer he claimed to be was recovered.
“During the search at his office in Kimathi Hse, a stamp bearing the name of the lawyer he claimed to be was recovered before he was arrested and detained at Muthaiga Police Station,” DCI said.
He was released on a cash bail of Sh100,000 pending the hearing of the case on March 5, 2024.
The arrest comes when the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has said that there is a surge in the number of unlicensed people acting as lawyers regretted that the masqueraders have been approaching vulnerable clients to offer them legal counsel on various matters in court only to swindle them millions following which they vanish.
More than thirty quack lawyers have been since the crackdown kicked off in January.
Among persons found to be illegally offering legal services are former clerks for certified lawyers, law school dropouts, and some civil servants who are well-versed in legal matters.
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