Nelson Havi, once the outspoken president of the Law Society of Kenya, has been found guilty of professional misconduct after publicly attacking a fellow lawyer on social media.
The decision was handed down by the Advocates Disciplinary Tribunal, which ruled that Havi’s posts, directed at former LSK president Allen Waiyaki Gichuhi, were not only inappropriate but damaging to the legal profession.
In the complaint, Gichuhi accused Havi of making defamatory remarks that painted him as corrupt and untrustworthy. The posts, shared across several social platforms, were said to have caused him “emotional distress and mental anguish.”
Havi did not dispute that he made the comments. But in his defence, he claimed the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to hear the matter, arguing that no third party had suffered harm. He maintained that any damage alleged was not a disciplinary issue.
The Tribunal disagreed.
In a ruling dated 7 April, it stated clearly: “This is the preserve of civil or criminal courts. The Tribunal is only concerned with the conduct of the accused advocate as an advocate.”
It added that the language used by Havi was “vulgar, abusive, and demeaning”—behaviour unbecoming of a member of the bar, especially one who once held its highest office.
In a firm rebuke, the panel wrote: “We consider it a serious act of professional misconduct for an advocate, let alone the president of the LSK, to accuse fellow colleagues of theft in a public forum instead of lodging a formal complaint with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.”
The Tribunal also voiced broader concerns about what it described as an alarming rise in online feuds between lawyers. “Such conduct,” the panel warned, “undermines the dignity of the entire legal profession.”
The matter is set to return to the Tribunal on 17 November for mitigation and sentencing.
As of now, Havi has not issued a public statement in response to the verdict.
