A man from Kenya was, perhaps, erroneously emboldened by the proverb 'justice is blind' when he allegedly decided to hoodwink the judges and magistrates of the country by masquerading as an advocate.
Brian Mwenda not only posed as a legal practitioner but also managed to represent clients in 26 cases in courts, with an astonishing 100 per cent win record, according to a Facts East Africa report.
“Kenyan authorities have arrested a fake lawyer, Brian Mwenda, who has falsely been presenting himself as an Advocate of the high court of Kenya. He argued 26 cases before High Court Judges, Magistrates, and Court of Appeal Judges. He won all the 26 cases before his arrest," Facts East Africa wrote on X.
However, Mwenda's successful stint was short-lived and he is now under arrest.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Mewanda employed a common international fraud scheme known as Business Email Compromise (BEC).
Brian Mwenda took advantage of an actual advocate's inactivity using this misleading tactic. He made contact with the secretariat under the guise of applying for payment of a Practising Certificate (PC). However, his initial application was turned down because of invalid email credentials.
Mwenda, however, was able to log into the account without authorisation and quickly took over the portal. He changed his profile photo and employer information to conceal his identity. Additionally, he paid the required fee and submitted an application for a practising certificate. But sadly for Mwenda, the application was denied because he was unable to present some specific documents.
Mwenda's cover was blown when the Nairobi branch of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) started receiving complaints from the general public. The Nairobi branch acted right away, categorically stating that Mwenda was not an authorised advocate and that he lacked the necessary license to practice as a lawyer in Kenya.
The amusing case of Brian Mwenda quickly became an inspiration for many light-hearted comments on social media.
A username Nungua Burnaboy remarked, “So he won 26 cases against Lawyers who went to the law school but he’s rather being punished?. Those lawyers should rather be punished for letting one who hasn’t attended a law school win cases against them."
Another user Mfecane wrote, "Give the man an honorary law degree."
"M sure he is going to argue himself out of the arrest," wrote user TheTraderInYou.
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