Lobby petitions LSK to allow advocates to carry firearms amid rising attacks
The petitioners expressed concern that advocates often find themselves in exposed and dangerous positions, not only in contentious cases but even in non-contentious practice.
Public interest legal group Sheria Mtaani and lawyer Shadrack Wambui have petitioned the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Council, demanding that advocates be allowed to carry firearms as a matter of right to protect themselves while on duty, following a spate of attacks and targeted killings of lawyers handling sensitive or high-risk cases.
In a letter dated September 15, 2025, the Ongata Rongai and Nairobi-based organisation highlighted the escalating dangers faced by lawyers in the course of their work, citing the recent murder of Advocate Mathew Kyalo Mbobu and recalling the tragic deaths of Advocates Anthony Nahashon Ngunjiri, Elizabeth Koki Musyoki, Willie Kimani and Mandela Nabaala.
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“To speak their names is not to reopen wounds, but to keep alive the honour of their service and the solemn truth their passing teaches us: that the practice of law, though noble in purpose, is fraught with peril,” reads the petition.
The petitioners expressed concern that advocates often find themselves in exposed and dangerous positions, not only in contentious cases but even in non-contentious practice.
“It is this paradox of law as both shield and target that compels us to speak,” the petitioners said.
Through Wambui, Sheria Mtaani acknowledged the LSK’s steadfast commitment to its members during times of threat but said the Society is limited by its statutory mandate and cannot independently provide full physical security. It urged the Council to actively engage with institutions responsible for security to better protect advocates nationwide.
The petition also raised concerns over the implementation of the Firearms Act, which allows private citizens to apply for firearm certificates if they demonstrate “good and sufficient reason.” Sheria Mtaani noted that advocates routinely face denial of such certificates, often without explanation, despite the clear and heightened risks of their work.
“It has become an open secret that where an advocate and a politician seek certification contemporaneously, the outcome is virtually predetermined, not by merit, necessity, or fairness, but by the weight of influence and social capital,” the petitioners said.
The organisation described this disparity as “indefensible,” arguing that the personal security of advocates should not depend on status or privilege but on professional exposure to mortal risk.
The petitioners have also called on the LSK Council to summon or invite Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to deliberate on practical solutions, noting that Murkomen, as a long-standing LSK member, is well acquainted with the perils faced by advocates.
“We are fortified in this proposal by the fact that the Honourable Cabinet Secretary is himself a long-standing member of the Law Society of Kenya and is therefore well acquainted with the realities and perils herein outlined. It is our considered view that he would readily appreciate both the urgency of the matter and the reasonableness of the petition,” they said.
Sheria Mtaani emphasised that the loss of their colleagues should be a call to urgent action.
“Had our departed colleagues been afforded the security herein envisioned, their fate might have been different,” they added.
The group warned that their deaths are a lasting charge upon the profession to act with urgency and resolve.
The petition further declared Sheria Mtaani’s intent to pursue court action to make firearm possession a legal right for High Court advocates, rather than a matter of discretion for law enforcement or licensing officers.
“Sheria Mtaani will proceed to court to fight for the Advocates of the High Court of Kenya to have a firearm as of right. We shall make it the rule so that we are not under the discretion of law enforcement officers and those legally empowered to issue firearms licenses,” reads the letter.
LSK has now been urged to respond to the petition within seven days, with Sheria mtaani expressing hope that the initiative will result in “tangible and proactive measures” to safeguard advocates, ensuring that those who safeguard the rule of law are themselves protected.
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