Kiambu Chief Magistrate, Emily Ominde, has emphasized on the need for legal literacy and awareness for members of the public.
Speaking during the official opening of the Law Society of Kenya’s (LSK) legal awareness week at the Kiambu Law Courts, Ominde said that legal literacy will go a long way in ensuring that justice is delivered effectively and efficiently.
“When one knows what the legal process is, they are able to follow it and this makes it easier for the judiciary to serve them well,” she said.
Ominde who is a member of the Judicial Service Commission also lauded the LSK for their initiative, saying that it will provide Kenyans with key legal education that will help them as they seek to be served by the courts.
She urged members of the public to take advantage of the opportunity to get legal advice and information, pledging to support the LSK on their initiative.
“I will ask my colleagues to join you (the LSK) to answer any questions that the public may have and provide any information that may be needed to make the process smooth,” Ominde pledged.
The programme is expected to run from Monday October 25 to Friday October 29 with LSK’s Loise Ndirangu, confirming that various relevant institutions will be present to attend to the public during the week.
According to the LSK, The Legal Awareness Week, which will be held at the Kiambu Law courts, is an initiative of the advocate’s society, that aims to equip the Kenyan population, majority of whom may not know about how the law works with legal literacy and awareness.
“The public will also be advised on various aspects of the Law including Civic Education, Civil, Criminal and Family/probate,” the LSK team confirmed.
The Legal Awareness week is observed once every year across the Country with the various branches of the advocate’s society providing free legal services from the counties and regions that they are based in.
Apart from lawyers from the LSK, representatives from other relevant institutions such as the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Land Registry will also be present.
The theme for this year is ‘sovereignty of people and access to justice’ which runs with Chief Justice Martha Koome’s vision of ‘Social Transformation through access to justice’
By Duncan Mutwiri
