NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 23 – Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi has declared that he will not resume practice before the Supreme Court, despite the court lifting the ban against him, his partners, and associates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While welcoming the freedom granted to his firm, Ahmednasir says his personal boycott of the apex court will remain in place unless fundamental reforms are undertaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He insisted that the Supreme Court must publicly acknowledge that the ban was wrong, arguing that no group of seven judges should arrogate to itself the power to determine who may or may not practice before it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Constitution of Kenya notwithstanding.\u201d He warned that the court risks being perceived as the \u201cpersonal property of seven individuals,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahmednasir further stated that the serious integrity and competence concerns he previously raised against the court remain unresolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He argued that merely lifting the ban does nothing to address what he terms a deep\u2011seated legitimacy deficit, adding that these issues cannot be \u201cswept under the carpet\u201d if the prestige and credibility of the Supreme Court are to be restored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahmednasir described his continued boycott as a deliberate sacrifice in his self\u2011declared war against what he calls \u201cJurisPESA\u201d<\/em>\u2014the alleged monetization and corruption of justice within the courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He opined that returning to practice before the Supreme Court would blunt his ability to speak freely against judicial misconduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf I return, who will remain to fight JurisPESA in our courts?\u201d he posed, noting that only a handful of lawyers are willing to openly confront the vice, citing former LSK President Nelson Havi as a rare exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ahmednasir dismissed the lifting of the ban as an appeasement tactic, not a resolution of the underlying problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a direct message to Chief Justice Martha Koome, he offered his assistance in reforming the judiciary, citing his experience as a former LSK Chair and Judicial Service Commission member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am ready to help reform the courts and fight JurisPESA judges,\u201d he said. \u201cMadam CJ, mimi niko ready. Are you ready?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" He insisterd that the Supreme Court must publicly acknowledge that the ban was wrong, arguing that no group of seven judges should arrogate to itself the power to determine who may or may not practice before it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12616,"featured_media":718400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,4625,26],"tags":[41327,41339,41326,2798,1981,41336,41335,41328,491,41338,41329,41331,41333,41337,41340,41334,41332,41330,41325],"coauthors":[407],"class_list":["post-791297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kenya","category-national-news","category-top-stories","tag-ahmednasir-abdullahi-boycott","tag-ahmednasir-abdullahi-statement","tag-ahmednasir-abdullahi-supreme-court","tag-chief-justice-martha-koome","tag-featured","tag-fighting-corruption-in-kenyan-courts","tag-judicial-service-commission-kenya-reform","tag-jurispesa-kenya","tag-kenya","tag-kenya-legal-news-today","tag-kenyan-judiciary-reform","tag-kenyan-lawyers-against-judicial-corruption","tag-kenyan-legal-profession-news","tag-kenyan-supreme-court-legitimacy-crisis","tag-kenyan-top-lawyers-opinions","tag-law-society-of-kenya-former-chair","tag-lifting-of-ban-on-lawyers-in-kenya","tag-supreme-court-integrity-issues-kenya","tag-supreme-court-kenya-ban-lifting"],"yoast_head":"\n