SUMMARY

• Parliament proposed amendments to the Advocates Act, saying lawyers from the two countries qualify for similar treatment as their counterparts from Uganda and Tanzania.
• The amendments if approved will change Section 12 of the Advocates Act, which currently only allows Ugandan and Tanzanian lawyers to practice in Kenya.
• The proposed changes come barely a month after the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee blocked Rwandan and Burundian lawyers from practising in Kenya.

Advocates from Rwanda and Burundi will be allowed to work in Kenya if Parliament adopts proposed changes to the law in line with the spirit of the East African Community (EAC).

Parliament proposed amendments to the Advocates Act, saying lawyers from the two countries qualify for similar treatment as their counterparts from Uganda and Tanzania.

Rwandan and Burundian advocates were in 2019 locked out from practising locally, a move that MPs say contravenes the spirit of the EAC.

“The Bill proposes to include an advocate of the High Court of Rwanda and an advocate of the High Court of Burundi as being eligible for admission as an advocate in Kenya,” the Bill reads in its memorandum.

The amendments if approved will change Section 12 of the Advocates Act, which currently only allows Ugandan and Tanzanian lawyers to practice in Kenya.

The Judiciary and the Council for Legal Education (CLE) have previously raised concerns on the lack of uniformity in the qualifications for admission to study law degree and to join the respective bars of the EAC member States.

Advocates from Rwanda and Burundi will be allowed to work in Kenya if Parliament adopts proposed changes to the law in line with the spirit of the East African Community (EAC).

Parliament proposed amendments to the Advocates Act, saying lawyers from the two countries qualify for similar treatment as their counterparts from Uganda and Tanzania.

Rwandan and Burundian advocates were in 2019 locked out from practising locally, a move that MPs say contravenes the spirit of the EAC.

“The Bill proposes to include an advocate of the High Court of Rwanda and an advocate of the High Court of Burundi as being eligible for admission as an advocate in Kenya,” the Bill reads in its memorandum.

The amendments if approved will change Section 12 of the Advocates Act, which currently only allows Ugandan and Tanzanian lawyers to practice in Kenya.

The Judiciary and the Council for Legal Education (CLE) have previously raised concerns on the lack of uniformity in the qualifications for admission to study law degree and to join the respective bars of the EAC member States.

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