Day: April 23, 2023

Residents of Uasin Gishu seeking legal representation from advocates from different law firms across the country are now enlightened on the right mechanism to access better services in regards to access to justice. This is after the Advocates’ Complaints Commission (ACC) conducted a public sensitisation forum in Eldoret to educate members of the public to know their rights in the advocate-client relationship, on the steps required when lodging complaints to the commission’s disciplinary committee whenever one feels his advocate is not acting in line with the professional code of conduct when serving him among other key things. The members of the public were also taken through the nature of complaints handled by the commission like withholding money of the client by the advocate after the case has been ruled by the court and compensation is paid to the advocate who in turn pays the client less amount or at a time fails to pay completely. Other complaints include failing to account to the client on usage of his or her money, failing to report or inform the client on the status of his case, giving invalid cheques, delaying cases, overcharging the client, failing to appear in court during hearing among others. The citizens were educated on how to identify a suitable advocate for their cases by searching their particulars in the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) website search engine to determine whether the said advocates are active, inactive, suspended, struck off or dead. In an interview with KNA, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the ACC, Mr George Nyakundi said that they intend to sensitise Kenyans about the mandate of the Advocates’ Complaints Commission and on how to relate with the advocates. ‘The Advocates’ Complaints Commission is a department under the office of the Attorney General with a mandate to receive complaints of professional misconduct against advocates and upon the inquiry into the complains we try to bring the client and the advocate together to try to promote reconciliation and in the event that some of the cases are so serious to refer such complaints to the Advocates disciplinary committee for purposes of discipline or sanctions to those advocates,’ he said. The CEO pointed out that the reason why they are going around the country is that the complaints commission is only based in Nairobi and yet all Kenyans require the services of the commission and there was need to inform them about the commission’s services in particular and how to lodge the complaints in order to inspire greater public confidence in the legal profession and promote provision of efficient and effective services in the handling of complaints of professional misconduct against advocates. He indicated that citizens can easily access the complaints report form from the commission’s website www.acc.go.ke fill it, sign and email it back to the commission via email acc@ag.go.ke Upon receiving the complaint, the commission reviews it, evaluates and proceeds further to either charge an advocate or reconcile the client with the advocate through the In-house Dispute Resolution (IHDR). He further noted that the citizens can alternatively seek guidance from the nearby Office of the Attorney General on how to launch complaints. Mr Nyakundi affirmed that the commission has received many complaints from the members of the public, most cases being on advocates withholding money from clients. ‘In the last financial year 2021/2022, we received about 1003 complaints against advocates. On average about 84 complaints every month. Between July 2022 and March 2023 we have received about 670 complaints,’ he said. ‘For those complaints we have resolved a good number, like last year we resolved about 670 either by rejecting those which are not under our mandate and forwarding others to the commissions disciplinary committee for action,’ said Mr. Nyakundi. He said the IHDR which is a form the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the commission has yielded a lot of success in settling disputes which has helped clients get back their money and documents which were withheld by advocates. ‘Last year we submitted challenges to complaints against advocates withholding money from the clients and in the process, we got about Sh 23 billion paid out by the advocates who had withheld it unjustifiably,’ he said. ‘We also had clients whose advocates had withheld some of their documents like title deeds or files and we resolved these complaints, those are some of the successes for the commission,’ he added. Additionally, between July last year to March this year the commission subjugated about 242 complaints to IHDR and has received about Sh5 billion so far and is still following up on some of the payments. For serious cases in the last financial year 2021/2022, the commission filed 212 fresh charges against advocates in the advisory committee and this year 114 charges out of which the advocates were either suspended, fined, or abolished. Among the suspended, 5 advocates were struck off the advocacy and 3 suspended. By March this financial year, 5 advocates were suspended and 2 struck off the roll of advocacy. In his remarks, Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Dr Eddyson Nyale lauded the commission’s move to sensitise the members of the public across the country noting that it will help enlighten citizens in terms of accessing proficient legal services whenever they are not satisfied with the manner in which their advocates serve them in various cases like land, accidents and others.

Source: Kenya News Agency

U.S. troops are carrying out a precarious evacuation of American embassy staffers in the African nation of Sudan, shuttering the U.S. embassy there as fighting rages for a ninth day, according to a senior Biden administration official. U.S. troops that airlifted embassy staff out of Khartoum have safely left Sudanese airspace, a second U.S. official confirmed. Biden ordered American troops to evacuate embassypersonnel after receiving a recommendation earlier Saturday from his national security team with no end in sight to the fighting, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the mission. The evacuation order was believed to apply to about 70 Americans. U.S. forces were flying them from a landing zone at the embassy to an unspecified location. The State Department has suspended operations at the embassy due to the dire security situation. It was not clear when the embassy might resume functioning. According to the World Health Organization, fighting has killed more than 400 people since erupting April 15 between two factions whose leaders are vying for control over the country. The violence has included an unprovoked attack on an American diplomatic convoy and numerous incidents in which foreign diplomats and aid workers were killed, injured or assaulted. The White House has said it has no plans for a government-coordinated evacuation of American citizens trapped in Sudan. An estimated 16,000 private U.S. citizens are registered with the embassy as being in Sudan. The State Department has cautioned that that figure probably is inaccurate because there is no requirement for Americans to register nor is there a requirement to notify the embassy when they leave. The embassy issued an alert earlier Saturday cautioning that ‘due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, it is not currently safe to undertake a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of private U.S. citizens.’ The U.S. evacuation planning got underway in earnest on Monday after the embassy convoy was attacked in Khartoum. The Pentagon confirmed on Friday that U.S. troops were being moved to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti ahead of a possible evacuation. Saudi Arabia announced the successful repatriation of some of its citizens on Saturday, sharing footage of Saudi nationals and other foreigners welcomed with chocolate and flowers as they stepped off an apparent evacuation ship at the Saudi port of Jeddah.

Source: Somali National News Agency

The South African Police Service (SAPS) in the North West are offering a reward of up to R100 000 for any information that can lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of the murder of a retired police officer.

Fifty-three year old retired Warrant Officer Johannes Butiki Shaba was attacked and fatally shot by four attackers in May last year in Unit 5, Mogwase, whilst accompanying his 57-year-old friend.

“The friend was visiting a tenant, whilst Shaba remained in the vehicle; a Toyota Hilux Legend 50 bakkie. Upon returning to his vehicle, the victim’s friend was confronted by a suspect, who demanded his vehicle key.

“The suspect then started to assault him and Shaba came to his aid, but was shot twice by the suspects, who fled the scene in the hijacked bakkie. During the incident, a 9mm Norinco pistol and cellular phone were stolen,” the office of the Provincial Commissioner in North West said on Sunday.

Shaba was rushed to a local health centre, where he passed on the same night. The vehicle was later found abandoned at Thekwane, close to Rustenburg.

Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena has urged the community to come forward with information that will ensure that these ruthless criminals are brought to book to face the full might of the law.

Anyone with information is requested to contact the Investigating Officer, Captain Lesego Mosimane of Mogwase Detectives on cell: 082 416 3083.

Anonymous tip-offs can be communicated via the MySAPSApp from your smart phone or call the South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Stop on ?08600 10111.?

Source: South African Government News Agency

The High Courts in both Pretoria and Johannesburg will this week hold ceremonial sittings to commemorate the centenary of the Women Legal Practice Act of 1923.

“Prior to the Act the courts had ruled, in Schlesin v Incorporated Law Society 1909 TS 363 and Incorporated Law Society v Wookey 1912 AD 623 that women were not included as ‘persons’ who could be admitted to legal practice,” the Office of the Chief Justice said on Sunday.

The Act expressly opened the door to women by decreeing that: ‘Women shall be entitled to be admitted to practice and to be enrolled as advocates, attorneys, notaries public or conveyancers in any province of the Union subject to the same terms and conditions as apply to men …’.

“It did not take long for women to take active steps to become legal practitioners. The first woman to be admitted as an advocate in South Africa was Irene Geffin in 1923. The first woman attorney was Constance Mary Hall, in 1926. For historic apartheid reasons, it took longer for Black women to join the ranks, with Desiree Finca being enrolled as the first Black woman attorney in 1967,” the Office of the Chief Justice said.

For this historic celebratory occasion, Finca, together with direct descendants of Geffin and of Wookey, will attend the sittings as special guests.

Tuesday’s occasion is hosted in collaboration with the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges and the 100 more Campaign.

The ceremonial sittings will bring together women from legal practice, legal institutions, and the Judiciary to honour these pioneering women, to reflect on the journey of women in the legal profession and to reaffirm the commitment as a collective to promote the constitutional rights of equality and human dignity.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Seychelles will soon have its first harvest of mangrove honey, which is being produced by bees in the mangrove forest surrounding the Constance Ephelia Resort in Port Launay on the west of the main island of Mahe.

Mangrove honey is a unique and delicious type of honey produced in tropical climates. It is made from the nectar of mangrove trees found near the coastlines of South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and now in Seychelles.

In Seychelles, this is a new concept and was brought to the island nation by the sustainability coordinator at Constance Ephelia Resort, Hilary Albert, as part of her project in a training programme held by the hotel.

“It was through a development programme that, after some research, I learned about mangrove honey, and since at this hotel we have a large wetland area, which contains all seven types of mangrove, I felt it would be a good idea to try it out here,” Albert told SNA.

As part of her job, Albert regularly takes visitors on tour around the hotel, including in the mangrove area.

At the moment, only two bee colonies have been placed in the mangrove area. (Constance Ephelia Resort) Photo License: All Rights Reserved

“I noticed that after one year on, I was still only showing clients the mangrove and with mangrove honey, I will now have something more to talk to them about,” she added.

This sort of honey is produced by mangrove trees that thrive in saltwater conditions, and the flavour of their honey is well-known. The coastal environment gives mangrove honey a slightly salty flavour. It is also a strong-flavoured, viscous, light-brown honey that has been compared to butterscotch or licorice.

“Aside from producing honey, the bees are also very effective pollinators and so they will also help this wetland to become more dense as well,” said Albert.

Some of the best mangrove honey in the world is produced in Mexico and Florida, which have coastal areas with extensive mangrove forests.

Beekeepers must set up their hives close to mangrove trees in order to generate honey. The bees will go to the mangroves and gather nectar from the flowers, bringing it back to the hive where it will be converted to honey.

Albert explained that she had never done any sort of beekeeping before taking on this project.

She had to learn through other experienced local beekeepers and sat for an online course to become a certified beekeeper as well.

Albert explained that she had never done any sort of beekeeping before taking on this project. (Constance Ephelia Resort) Photo License: All Rights Reserved

At the moment, only two bee colonies have been placed in the mangrove area, but Albert says that more will be added in the future as she continues to monitor the progress of the current ones.

The Port Launay wetlands cover an area of 120.6 hectares on the western coast of Mahe, and have the highest-diversity mangrove areas in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.

It is also the biggest mangrove site in the Indian Ocean and the first site in Seychelles to be designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.

“The hotel management has been very helpful towards my project, where they have financed my equipment and supported me throughout this journey,” added Albert, who only joined Constance Ephelia in 2021.

Clients staying at Constance Ephelia will be able to taste the mangrove honey in a few weeks’ time, with Albert saying that they will be giving the honey to clients as part of the souvenir of their stay at the hotel.

Source: Seychelles News Agency