Siaya: A sting operation by the Law Society of Kenya officials and the police last evening led to the arrest of a private land surveyor suspected of masquerading as an advocate in Siaya town.

According to Kenya News Agency, the team, led by LSK Council Member Teresia Wavinya Nicholas and the West Kenya region Chairperson Grace Otieno, took the private surveyor by surprise and whisked her to Siaya police station. Addressing the press outside Siaya police station, the Council Member said the society acted on a tip-off from members of the public who complained that the lady had been fraudulently preparing legal documents that included pleadings, sale, resale, and land transfer documents despite lacking authority to do so.

Wavinya told the public to be cautious when seeking legal services, adding that they should, whenever in doubt, contact the Law Society of Kenya to ascertain the membership of the advocates they engage. ‘We are urging the public to always confirm that their advocates are licenced and their data is with the LSK,’ she said.

She said that the crackdown was part of efforts to bring sanity to the legal profession, which has been infiltrated by masquerades. ‘LSK is out to ensure the public is not duped by masquerades,’ she added.

Wavinya at the same time took a swipe at unscrupulous lawyers who harboured such masquerades by allowing them to run their satellite offices and even use their rubber stamps and stationery for gain. She said it was illegal for lawyers to engage in what she termed as ‘touting’. ‘You know that ‘touting’ is illegal. You cannot share proceeds with someone who is not an advocate,’ she said, adding, ‘Why are we allowing these people to infiltrate our profession?’

Otieno said most of the victims of fraud were widows who ended up losing land succession battles. She said that the society would intensify its crackdown on quacks, adding that so far, four people have been arrested in Siaya county in the past one year.