The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has ordered a nationwide boycott of court proceedings on Wednesday, July 22, alongside an indefinite targeted boycott of specific courts, in a dramatic escalation of its push for judicial accountability.
In a statement dated July 17 and signed by LSK President Charles Kanjama, SC, the Council said the decision followed sustained but unsuccessful engagement with the Judiciary over issues including judicial corruption, case backlogs, registry inefficiencies, and delayed complaint resolution mechanisms.
“A court boycott is a lawful, legitimate form of collective action by advocates, who choose to down their tools for a limited period,” the Council stated, describing the move as a proportionate response to unresolved concerns raised repeatedly by members across the country.
The one-day nationwide boycott will be treated like an unscheduled public holiday, with only mentions and interim order applications proceeding to secure fresh hearing dates. Filing of court documents will not be affected, and advocates must continue meeting statutory deadlines.
More significant is the indefinite targeted boycott, which will bar advocates from appearing before judges and judicial officers who have secured court orders halting investigations by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) or the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). Affected judicial officers will be limited to delivering pending rulings and judgments, and barred from handling new applications or part-heard matters.
Notably, the targeted boycott extends to nearly the entire Supreme Court bench. LSK said all Supreme Court judges except one, along with the Registrar, currently remain in office under orders restraining the JSC from processing complaints against them, meaning Supreme Court hearings will effectively be frozen except for registry services.
LSK has directed advocates appearing before affected judicial officers to request recusal, transfer, or adjournment, and to report any resistance to the Society for possible escalation to the JSC.
To sustain the pressure, LSK said advocates will receive a secure reporting link on the boycott day to submit anonymized feedback on court experiences, which will later be presented to the Judiciary and JSC as evidence to support reform.
The Council maintained it remains committed to dialogue with the Judiciary but insisted judicial independence “must go hand-in-hand with accountability, integrity, transparency and responsiveness” to concerns raised by the Bar.
The boycott is expected to disrupt court operations nationwide, with litigants likely to face delays as advocates comply with the directive.
