Alleged Undefeated ‘Fake’ Lawyer Arrested In Kenya After Winning 26 Cases

A Kenyan man who won 26 court cases without any defeats was arrested for false pretenses for portraying himself as a lawyer in Nairobi, Kenya.

According to NDTV, Brian Mwenda, who has appeared before magistrates, Court of Appeal judges, and High Court judges and has won every case, has been taken into custody by Kenyan police. The Rapid Action Team of the Nairobi Branch of the Law Society of Kenya put a notice on its social media account warning people that Mwenda is not who he says he is.

The Branch wishes to notify all members of the society and of the public that BRIAN MWENDA NJAGI is not an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, from the Society’s records, neither is he a member of the Branch. pic.twitter.com/hqzDtxRTSE

— LSK Nairobi Branch (@lsk_nbi) October 12, 2023

The organization stated that Mwenda somehow gained access to its portal and “identified an account with a name corresponding to his, tampered with the details, and uploaded his own photo in a bid to infiltrate Kenya’s legal profession,” Ghana Web reported.

The Law Society of Kenya said they realized that the alleged imposter “stole the identity of a lawyer with a name that is similar to his – Brian Mwenda Ntwiga.” They didn’t know this until Ntwiga contacted them to say he “could no longer log into the system.”

They realized the email address Ntwiga used didn’t match what was in the system.

“On the 5th Day of August 2022, Brian Mwenda Ntwiga was admitted to the Bar and his correct email address was captured and an Account opened for him in the Advocates portal. We reached out to Advocate Brian Mwenda Ntwiga who confirmed that he had not applied for a practicing certificate since his admission, reason being that he had been working at the Office of the Attorney General and did not require a Practicing Certificate,” according to a statement from the organization.

The Law Society of Kenya saw that “sometime in September 2023,” Mwenda changed the profile photo and workplace and paid for the practicing certificate. “However, his application was not processed since he was required to provide documents, including the certificate of business incorporation.”

BBC News reported that Mike Sonko, the former governor of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, is in the corner of the alleged fake attorney. A posted video with him and Mwenda appears on X, formerly known as Twitter. In the video, the alleged fake attorney said, “I will also be able to provide my innocence and provide the actual context.”

I still maintain that my future lawyer Brian Mwenda is innocent until proven guilty. Tuko na yeye huku Mombasani until Monday when we shall present him to the DCI to record a statement pic.twitter.com/fFGNoxG7tX

— Mike Sonko (@MikeSonko) October 13, 2023

Sonko also informed X users that Mwenda himself does not have an X account, after some have appeared in recent days on several sites asking for money for his defense.