Keypoints:
- Lawyers halt court appearances nationwide
- Targeted boycott begins against named officers
- Dispute raises 2027 election concerns
KENYAN lawyers boycotted court proceedings nationwide on Wednesday, intensifying a confrontation with the judiciary over alleged corruption, prolonged cases and what the legal profession describes as ineffective accountability mechanisms.
The action has moved beyond a one-day protest. The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) says it will continue boycotting selected judges and magistrates it accuses of obstructing investigations or disciplinary proceedings, raising wider concerns about confidence in the justice system before the 2027 election.
Lawyers withdraw from proceedings
LSK President Charles Kanjama said advocates in courts across the country had largely observed the July 22, 2026 boycott.
‘The court boycott is going on in courts across the country, with many lawyers heeding the call,’ Kanjama told reporters.
Lawyers were permitted to file urgent documents to protect clients from missed deadlines, but they were asked not to appear in routine proceedings.
The society said it would begin an indefinite boycott of specific judicial officers on July 23, including Chief Justice Martha Koome, whom it alleges have secured orders blocking anti-corruption investigations or disciplinary action.
The claims have not been independently established, and the officers named by the LSK are entitled to due process.
The dispute represents a sharp shift from January 2024, when lawyers marched to defend judicial independence after President William Ruto accused unnamed judges of corruption and threatened to disregard some court orders.
Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi said advocates had become tired of what he called ‘a corrupt judiciary that refuses to reform itself’.
Judiciary defends its record
The judiciary rejected the boycott and said courts would remain open. It argued that complaints against judges and judicial officers can be submitted to the Judicial Service Commission and the Office of the Judiciary Ombudsman for investigation.
It also said it had repeatedly engaged the legal profession and remained open to further talks.
The latest State of the Judiciary report shows that courts resolved 647,686 cases during the 2024–2025 financial year, compared with 621,425 new filings. That produced a case-clearance rate of 104 percent, meaning courts concluded more cases than were registered during the period.
The judiciary said the performance helped reduce pending cases. However, a clearance rate above 100 percent does not mean that backlogs, delayed rulings, missing files or complaints about judicial conduct have disappeared.
The Office of the Judiciary Ombudsman received 1,107 new complaints during the financial year. Including matters carried forward, it processed 1,206 complaints and resolved 1,086, representing a 90 percent resolution rate.
Complaints included delayed trials, missing files, adjournments and concerns about the exercise of judicial discretion.
Bribery arrest intensifies scrutiny
The boycott coincided with an Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) operation involving a senior principal magistrate and a probation officer attached to Kangema Law Courts.
Investigators alleged that KSh170,000 (about $1,314) was demanded from a businessman in exchange for a favourable probation report and a non-custodial sentence. The officials were arrested after allegedly receiving KSh150,000 (about $1,159) during an operation in Kangema Township.
Koome subsequently relieved the magistrate of judicial duties pending criminal investigations and disciplinary proceedings.
The chief justice said the judiciary would cooperate with investigators and would not shield criminal or unethical conduct. She also stressed that the accused remained entitled to due process.
The case does not prove the LSK’s broader allegations against the judiciary, but it has intensified scrutiny of the institution’s internal accountability systems.
Election trust enters the dispute
Kenya’s courts have played a central role in resolving electoral disputes since the adoption of the 2010 Constitution. The Supreme Court annulled the 2017 presidential election and rejected a challenge to Ruto’s victory after the disputed 2022 vote.
Former LSK president Eric Theuri warned that declining judicial credibility could become particularly serious if courts are required to resolve disputes arising from the 2027 election.
‘The judiciary is irredeemably compromised and is unable to act as an arbiter,’ Theuri said.
The warning comes as demonstrations, allegations of police brutality and claims of unlawful detentions continue to shape Kenya’s political climate. Africa Briefing has reported on the legal profession’s campaign against alleged police abductions and how public protests are reshaping the 2027 race.
Those pressures raise the stakes if courts are again called upon to settle divisive political and constitutional disputes.
What happens next?
Kanjama said the LSK Council and members of the Senior Counsel Bar would meet the Judicial Service Commission on July 31 to discuss the concerns behind the protest.
The credibility of the LSK campaign will depend partly on the evidence it presents against individual officers and whether its targeted boycott advances accountability without denying litigants access to representation.
The judiciary, meanwhile, faces pressure to demonstrate that complaints involving senior officers can be handled independently, transparently and without unnecessary delay.
