Faith Odhiambo: The dancing new LSK boss who put Ruto and Parliament on radar

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK)’s president-elect Faith Mony Odhiambo danced quite a bit as she campaigned for the seat she won on Thursday.

A video of her having a jig with lawyers in Kisumu has been all the rage on social media.

One wonders how she would dance to the famous song ‘All I Do is Win’. See, she has won every LSK position she has ever contested.

She first gunned for the Nairobi representative seat and blasted straight to the tape. Then she primed her sights on the vice presidency, to which she cleared obstacles like they were mere cobwebs.

In the fullness of time, when she eyed the presidency, it appeared to be a tall order but this lawyer who joined the bar in 2011 knew the lay of the land. She floored four opponents and now she is the second-ever woman elected to lead one of Kenya’s most influential professional societies.

What’s more, she is the first-ever LSK vice president to ascend directly into the presidency.

If ‘All I Do is Win’ were to be played today, how will her steady gait treat the bouncy beat? How will those cream stilettos she wore during our interview support the tower of power that she is?

Mrs Odhiambo, who will take the oath of office as the 51st LSK president in Nakuru later this month, has humongous dreams for the society.

One of the takeaways from the interview is that judges and magistrates and other judicial officers who take bribes to offer services should be afraid, very afraid.

“We want to change the narrative that justice can be bought,” she declares.

By the time her first two-year term ends, Mrs Odhiambo – who is a partner at Ombok and Owuor Advocates and also a University of Nairobi law lecturer – hopes to see the construction of Wakili Towers get underway. She says it is a shame that Kenyan lawyers lag behind their neighbours in having a state-of-the-art building.

“In the region, it’s only (LSK) that doesn’t have a tower that is up and running,” she says. “As the premier Bar, we need to stand out.”

There is also a development the LSK intends to set up in Nairobi’s South C that she will be keen on.

Mrs Odhiambo specialised in competition law while pursuing her master’s at the University of Kent. It is a specialisation that has secured her several consultancies with bodies like the Communications Authority where she has tackled termination rates and many other subjects. She has also been engaged by Rwanda to design its competition and consumer protection law.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Nation, she discussed how a remark about the government wanting a “friendly” LSK boss spooked the campaigns, how Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s endorsement sent wind onto her sails and why Parliament should be ready for salvos from the Bar.

And oh, we were sure to ask her the secret to her hat trick of LSK wins.

Q: Was it easy being the reigning vice president running for president?

For one of my opponents in particular, that was the ringing tag; that we’ve been there, we’ve done it before; why should we be given a second chance? And my message was, I have served as the Nairobi representative for two years. I’ve served as the vice president and all the endeavours that I set to complete, I did. I have lived up to my promises.

Q: This was a social media-heavy campaign that saw some aspirants trending on social media for days.

Social media was a huge game-changer this time, in terms of reaching out to as many people as you can.

This campaign required reaching out through all media that you could get. I remember being told, ‘You need to up your social media game.’ I am not somebody who normally posts personal things on social media, but this took me out of my comfort zone totally.

You had to have a social media team working to guide you in terms of events you are running and having them up on your social media handles.

I have realised the power of social media and how it can be used even for propaganda, both negative and positive. And so, we really had to work hard to just keep our message clean.

I maintained a delicate balance because sometimes when you post too much, you give your opponents information on your whereabouts.

Most people didn’t know where I was going, how I was moving, but I really did a lot of groundwork.

Q: Azimio leader Raila Odinga tweeted an endorsement for your candidature just a day to the polls. How did this affect your run?

First of all, I thank him for his endorsement. I am honoured. He’s not an advocate and didn’t need to throw his support behind me, but he did.

And I think his endorsement sort of (negated) the propaganda that was being shared on social media that we were the State candidates, having visited the Office of the President at the inception of our term initially.

The LSK presented a memorandum regarding extrajudicial killings that were a huge concern for us.

Raila’s endorsement sort of vindicated that analysis.

But at the same time, you know, as a national figure, his endorsement or his support was favourable, I believe.

Though, you know, it depends on what side of the (political) divide one falls. Some would find it negative because he’s a political leader, while others found it positive.

I am just happy it didn’t affect us negatively because the resounding and overwhelming support that was shown by the members just ascertained that LSK, irrespective of the different (shades of) propaganda that may get round, we remain objective.

We are still a profession. We still interrogate issues and can determine who is a good leader and what they have to offer.

Q: Having acted for those taken to court due to the opposition-organised maandamano and also having represented the LSK in challenging the Finance Bill 2023, would one argue that you won the favour of the Opposition?

Why? Because LSK remains apolitical. We were doing just our work. LSK, similarly, was not supportive of the dialogue that was taking place with regards to the proposal to change the Constitution and set certain offices in place.

We stand firm for the Constitution, we stand for the profession and for the public. We might, as a consequence, be perceived to pro-Opposition because of the positions we take, but ours is a very objective standard with regard to the rule of law.

Thus, we applaud the President when he does good work and support and work with different government agencies and work closely with the Office of the Attorney-General.

Q: In January, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei spoke about wanting a government-friendly LSK boss. How did this affect the course of the campaigns?

It affected the campaigns but the resounding position of members was that we will not allow State interference in our leadership ranks.

And in social media posts, members were quite clear to those they perceived were pro-government or had close ties with the government that they would not want them at the LSK council. Indeed, majority of our members, irrespective of the fact that some work in government, hold firm to the clear position that LSK should remain independent.

Q: What is your message to President William Ruto as you take over the mantle?

The LSK works closely with the various stakeholders and the government is one of these. We want to build a relationship that is based on the rule of law.

We ask that his office and his being there to be a protector of the Constitution because he is a creature of that Constitution. He swore an oath of office to defend the Constitution of Kenya.

We ask him to remember those values and how he fought against the BBI (Building Bridges Initiative) when the BBI sought to erode the very tenets of the Constitution.

He should allow the three arms of government to carry out their work, particularly the Judiciary. An assault by the Head of State against the Judiciary erodes the confidence that the public have towards the Judiciary.

If they (government) happen stand for the rule of law, they will be on the same side as LSK. We will always pick the side of the Constitution and the rule of law.

Q: What will you tell your UoN students the next time you go to class?

I will thank them for supporting me. They weren’t actually advocates yet with a vote, but they came out in large numbers in terms of just social media support.

Remember that I am also the Patron of the Law Students Association of Kenya. They also played a huge part in supporting me.

Q: You term your family as a strong pillar. Tell us more.

My mother was a vigorous campaigner. She used to work at KRA and is now retired. You would find her calling her former colleagues in the legal department, urging them to, ‘Please support my daughter.’

My husband (John Odhiambo) as well… helped me prepare for interviews, on what to do, how to do it, guiding me and correcting me.

And even the emotional support that you need the most because campaigns can be draining and you need a firm and solid foundation… somebody you can come home to and just talk to and they give you that encouragement even when you feel like things are not as good.

Q: You dream of a new building for LSK. Is that still in the works?

Yes, yes. That is still in the works, and is something I want to push so that we can start receiving proposals on how to set up and have the building (works) up and running. The legacy I want to ensure that we leave is that by the time our two years come to a close, the construction should be up and running, and that we can finally have a Wakili Towers.

Q: How will your first 100 days as the LSK boss look like?

I want to focus on some of the tangible concerns that members have. I want to focus on the strategy that we have to implement on review of policy to ensure that the kind of laws lines up do not negatively impact affect the public or the profession and that they are not unconstitutional.

Second is to set in place measures to start cushioning members of the Bar and address the welfare concerns. A huge task is to set up the ball running on the task force on dealing with corruption in the Judiciary and also at the Lands office; to start their work.

We want to address a lot of the concerns members have on incompetent staff and the way members of the Judiciary have been treating our members.

We want to be able to deal with and collect evidence of the corrupt dealings and any decisions that can help us develop a strong case against corrupt judicial officers and members of the Lands Registry.

We also want to take our parliamentarians to task because of the kind of laws coming out and what kind of input they are making.

Q: You idolise Ms Raychelle Omamo, the first ever woman president of LSK. As the second elected woman, how do you feel?

It means that I have to really work hard and perform, not just for the members of LSK who expect implementation of my PSP (Protect the rule of law; Stable bar; Progressive bar) agenda, but more so for all the female lawyers who may want to vie for this office, this position, all the young lawyers who are looking up to me, particularly the young female lawyers who look up to me as a leader who has been able to break the glass ceiling.

My aim is to not only put my council together, but ensure that we set a gold standard such that those coming after me will know how huge the pair of heels they have to fill.

Q: Were there any fun moments from the campaign trail? Anything you remember and smile?

I had a lot of fun in terms of certain events, like dancing with our young lawyers. There is a video of mine that has really trended, from the Kisumu dance.

Also, some LSK members (graciously) opened their homes to us. Some gave us free accommodation at their homes. Some bought us food and I thank them from the bottom of my heart because, I think we campaigned everywhere, and as far as was humanly possible.

Q: Have you spoken with the gentleman who was elected as your vice?

Yes, Mwaura Kabata. We worked closely with him before in the (LSK) council. We have spoken and we will work together well.

Q: What do you think tipped the odds in your favour?

I think the greatest change was after the TV debate when I got the largest shift with regards to (members) seeing me as a leader.

I got calls from so many different places, not only the young ones who had been undecided but also seniors who had been supporting different candidates.

And they all said one thing: ‘After I listened to you, I knew you are the right candidate for the presidency.’

Q: So, what’s the secret to not losing an LSK election?

I say it’s God. Totally God.

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