A fake lawyer in Kenya, Brian Mwenda won all 26 cases he fought by pretending to be a High Court lawyer. But eventually, he was caught for misconduct and was arrested by the Kenyan police. He handled these cases before various judges, according to the Nigerian Tribune.
Brian had successfully portrayed himself as a legal professional advocate for an extended period, and even judges did not question his qualifications until his recent arrest. He was arrested for false representation following public complaints by The Rapid Action Team of the Nairobi branch of the Law Society of Kenya.
Brian Mwenda allegedly accessed the society’s portal and tampered with the account details of a man sharing the same name, before uploading his picture and claiming to be trained in law and getting a degree. The accused has managed to secure victories in all 26 lawsuits he argued stirring controversy despite being described as a “fake lawyer” by local authorities, and a spectrum of reactions across Kenya.
“Kenyan authorities have arrested a fake lawyer, Brian Mwenda, who has falsely been presenting himself as an Advocate of the high court of Kenya. He argued 26 cases before High Court Judges, Magistrates, and Court of Appeal Judges. He won all the 26 cases before his arrest,” Facts East Africa wrote on X. Brian is being held by local officials for further investigation on the matter.
The Nairobi Branch of the Law Society of Kenya’s official account posted on X, previously known as Twitter, that “The Branch wishes to notify all members of the society and of the public that BRIAN MWENDA NJAGI is not an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya; from the Society’s records, neither is he a member of the Branch.”
The Law Society of Kenya stated that the fake lawyer criminally accessed their portal and…” Identified an account with a name corresponding to his, tampered with the details, and uploaded his photo in a bid to infiltrate Kenya’s legal profession;”
Following an emergency meeting, they conducted an analysis and found that...“Brian Mwenda stole the identity of a lawyer with a name that is similar to his – Brian Mwenda Ntwiga – after the legitimate lawyer reached out to the Secretariat after realizing that he could no longer log into the system.”
The IT department found out he couldn’t get into his membership site, especially his email, because the information, didn’t match his details. After he told his problems to the IT department on September 28.
“On the 5th Day of August 2022, Brian Mwenda Ntwiga was admitted to the bar, his correct email address was captured, and an account was opened for him in the Advocates portal. We reached out to Advocate Brian Mwenda Ntwiga, who confirmed that he had not applied for a practising certificate since his admission because he had been working at the Office of the Attorney General and did not require a practising certificate,” the statement said.
The Law Society of Kenya further said, “It was only sometime in September 2023 when he attempted to log into the system and activate his profile to apply for his practising certificate that he realized he could not access his LSK Portal.”
Brian Mwenda paid for his practising certificate and changed his profile picture once he accessed the platform.
“Upon being allowed access to the account, he took control of the portal, changed his profile picture at the workplace, and applied for and paid for the practising certificate. However, his application was not processed since he was required to provide documents, including the certificate of business incorporation,” they said.
In a video, Brian offered his gratitude to his supporters, stating, “I would like to convey my gratitude to the people that are supporting me and praying for me… in the fullness of time I will be able to clear this misunderstanding. I will also be able to provide my innocence and provide the actual context.”
