Maseno University officially inaugurated its Bachelor of Law (LLB) studies with IT by unveiling its first cohort of 21 students in a pompous occasion held at its Kisumu City Campus lecture hall on Friday evening.
The varsity had received clearance from the Council of Legal Education (CLE) and accreditation from the Council for University Education to establish a School of Law.
Some of the law programs the institution is set to offer include the 16 core units as per the CLE’s regulations, like Constitutional law, Criminal law, and Law of Evidence which will allow law graduates to practice in the country.
Prof. PLO Lumumba, Chief Guest Public Speaker, delivered the keynote address at the inaugural public lecture, where he advised the pioneer law students that the world today requires lawyers who are intellectually agile and capable of intimately interacting with the new nanotechnology.
‘‘To become one of the very best lawyers, you must be technologically savvy to enable you to compete with the very best in the world by also possessing a good knowledge in Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence,’’ he said.
Further, he advised them to always be thirsty to acquire new and relevant knowledge to adequately enable them to engage in a useful manner.
Prof. Lumumba, the former Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) top graft czar, explained to the budding lawyers that they should earnestly carve a niche that will well define who they are and be able to make a better judgement.
While presenting the day’s topic, titled “Practicing Law in a Changing Global Environment,” Prof. Lumumba averred that the new law students will define and pioneer how the world sees Maseno School of Law.
Lumumba, the Director of the Kenya School of Law and an eloquent lawyer, expressed his hopes to see the varsity teach and offer a legal regime in aquaculture as a lot of anthropogenic activities are steadily increasing along the Lake Victoria basin.
The law, he noted, is divine; it is as old as humanity, and society can’t live without it.
“As a lawyer, always strive to be honest, knowledgeable, adaptable, transformative, intellectually agile, and ready to sacrifice at the altar of justice and become an agent of change,” he observed.
Prof. Julius Nyabundi, Vice Chancellor of Maseno University, said that the institution will continue to churn out graduates who are highly rated in the job market. He added that legal study and practice are popular, nationalistic, prestigious, and profitable.
“We aim to become the best school of law in the East and Central African region and beyond,’’ said Prof. Nyabundi, who also doubles up as the chairman of the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).
The event was also graced by Tom Mboya University Vice Chancellor Prof. Charles Ocholla and Prof. Nicholas Orago, the Dean of Maseno School of Law, who revealed that the school of law will lay a strong foundation based on research and regional contemplation.
In this way, Prof. Orago stated that they hope that Maseno will be a hub for scholars where students can come to learn and be able to progress in their careers as legal practitioners, legal academicians, and persons to work in legal areas in government and non-governmental organizations in the country.
“In order for you to practice law, be a scholar, or work effectively in an institution, you have to be an effective researcher. So, research will be one of the core classes we will have and encourage among our law students,’’ Prof. Orago emphasized.
The School of Law boasts of having four qualified lecturers who are PhD holders to teach law, and they possess a wealth of experience as they have published and taught in other institutions of higher learning.
The varsity has set up a moot courtroom, a computer laboratory, a well-stocked law library, and several lecture halls for ease of learning.
By Movine Achieng and Rolex Omondi
