A bitter standoff between lawyers and a senior judicial officer in Busia has escalated into a full-blown crisis, with members of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) now alleging that their signatures were forged to support a petition demanding the transfer of Chief Magistrate Edna Nyaloti.
The dispute, which has paralyzed one of the town’s key courts, pits a magistrate known for her anti-corruption stance against a section of the bar that claims her security concerns have made it impossible for them to work.
The Boycott and the Allegations
The conflict erupted into the open on August 15, 2025, when the LSK Busia Chapter issued a directive stating that, effective Monday, August 18, “no advocate shall take up, handle or proceed with any matter before Edna Nyaloti, Chief Magistrate, Court No. 1 until she is transferred.”
The lawyers publicly justified their unprecedented boycott by citing security concerns raised by the magistrate herself. However, the situation took a dramatic turn when six members of the same chapter, including its leader, filed affidavits with the court, vehemently denying any involvement in the petition.
According to their sworn statements, the advocates were not part of the group that formulated the petition and never signed it. They allege their signatures were fabricated to create a false impression of unanimous support for the transfer.
“I swear this affidavit to confirm that I never appended my signature in support of the said petition and hereby disown the attached signature as it is not mine,” read one of the affidavits, as seen by this publication. “I thus disown the said petition as I did not take part in its formulation and neither did I append my signature in support of the same.”
A Clash Over Integrity and “Brokers”
The lawyers’ boycott motion followed a resolution passed by Busia advocates on August 14. But beneath the surface, the tension has been simmering for weeks, rooted in Magistrate Nyaloti’s aggressive campaign against what she describes as the “infiltration of brokers” in the Busia court system.
In a recent letter to the LSK Busia Branch Chair, Nyaloti raised the alarm over individuals allegedly commercializing court processes. She cited specific cases, including the arrest of one Michael Noah Wandera, who was suspected of working with a law firm to solicit Ksh.10,000 with a promise to facilitate the withdrawal of a case.
Nyaloti’s crackdown on these practices, which she warned put the “integrity of justice at risk,” appears to be the unstated core of the dispute. While the lawyers cite “security concerns,” civil society groups have been quick to dismiss the boycott as an underhanded tactic.
In statements, these groups have characterized the lawyers’ action not as a matter of safety, but as “an attempt to frustrate a judicial officer committed to integrity.”
A Judiciary at a Crossroads
The scandal now presents a multi-faceted problem: a work stoppage at a key court, serious allegations of signature forgery within the legal fraternity, and a high-stakes clash over corruption and judicial independence.
The allegation of forged signatures raises profound questions about who is truly behind the push to remove Magistrate Nyaloti and whether the LSK’s official action reflects the will of its local members or a smaller, motivated group.
As the Law Society of Kenya’s national office is likely to be drawn into the fray, the situation in Busia has become a stark microcosm of the wider challenges facing Kenya’s judiciary. The outcome will be closely watched, as it will signal whether the system can protect officers who take a firm stand against malpractice or if such stands can be derailed by internal resistance.
