File image of LSK CEO Mercy Wambua. |Photo| Courtesy|
Mercy Wambua is a lawyer and is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).
On Saturday June 26, 2021, members of the of the lawyers body voted to send her on compulsory leave. 118 voted in favour of the motion, while 16 voted against.
33 of the 118 voted physically while 85 voted via teleconferencing. All the 16, who voted against Wambua’s suspension, did so virtually.
Career
Wambua has served as the CEO at LSK from February 2016 when she was elected at the age of 36 . She became one of the youngest to ever hold the position.
She is in charge of all the affairs of the Society. These include: attending meetings on behalf of the Council and the Society, implementation of decisions and policies, financial oversight, and handling personnel matters.
File image of LSK CEO Mercy Wambua. |Photo| Courtesy|
She is also a secretary to the council and a secretary to the Advocates Disciplinary Tribunal.
The LSK CEO has previously served as the head of the Legal Aid Centre Christian Legal Education Aid and Research (CLEAR) based in Eldoret and Mombasa. The project was under Kenya Christian Lawyers Fellowship (KCLF).
Wambua has also been the Head of the Compliance and Ethics Department at the Kenya School of Law.
Awards
She is a recipient of the coveted Order of Grand Warrior (OGW) awarded to her by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Wambua was feted the award for her achievements in the legal field.
Suspension
The embattled LSK CEO was first suspended by LSK President Nelson Havi in September 2020 over allegations of gross misconduct and incompetence.
Wambua was, however, reinstated to her position in October 2020 by the LSK council members.
On June 26, members proceeded to send her on a compulsory leave. They also voted to have the CEO’s position filled within 45 days from Saturday, June 26 after Wambua is given a fair hearing.
Havi accused her of, “shielding her principals, two immediate former Presidents of LSK from liability for plunder of hundreds of millions”.
Assault Accusations against LSK President Nelson Havi
On Monday, July 12, she recorded a statement with the police, accusing LSK President Havi of assaulting her at their Gitanga Road offices.
The LSK President dismissed her allegations, stating that she made her way into a room while they were having a meeting with the intent of recording the proceedings.
Accopmanied by her lawyer Steve Ogolla, she recorded a statement at Muthangari Police Station alleging that Havi accosted her.
“I feel harassed and bullied, my hand is painful as we speak and my finger can’t actually stretch…and this is not the first time this is happening, even on Friday he attempted to assault me,” Wambua stated.
“She advised Havi that the boardroom had been booked for another meeting and she is actually in that meeting, and Havi demanded that she vacates the boardroom ostensibly because he had another meeting also happening at the time.
“When she hesitated, because she was already seated in a meeting, Havi then charged towards her attempting to slap her, which she dodged, and then Havi slammed her laptop effectively crashing her fingers,” Ogolla stated.
Havi’s Arrest
He was arrested on Tuesday, July 13, at his office in Nairobi and taken to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) head quarters for questioning.
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