A section of lwayers and a politician have come to condemn as illegal the decision by police to detain Lawyer Abib Zamzam.
The lawyer who was arrested and detained on Good Friday is accused of reversing an RTGS transaction from her law firm to that of Salim Ali Sheik.
In a matter that the Law Society terms as purely civil, Lawyer Zamzam is said to have reversed a Sh6 million payment after agreeing to pay it.
The decision to cancel the transaction would later birth a fierce financial dispute that would later see Zamzam incarcerated.
LSK President, Allen Gichuhi called the police malicious after they unsuccessfully attempted to secure the lawyer’s release.
The lawyers stated that the detention was illegal and that the police were being used by a clique of extortionists to frustrate the lawyer.
“It’s very malicious. There is more than meets the eye. This is a young lady, she is a mother, she has ulcers, they are just keeping her there for no reason and we will insist on having a meeting with the IG himself. This is unacceptable. We are not just talking about her as a lawyer but the rights of every Kenyan citizen,” Allen Gichuhi said.
“We have tried since Friday to have the police release her on bail and they have refused. We can’t understand why. The offence that they are claiming to be investigating is stopping an RTGS instruction, surely!”Gichuhi added.
Former Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim denounced the police detention, saying the government was being unfair to detain the lawyer over the Easter Holiday.
He said (detaining) : “…a young mother on Good Friday and denying her bail because of a matter that is purely civil is the height impunity”
“Even under the terrible days of KANU, extortion cartels didn’t run the criminal justice system. Zamzam as an Advocate is an officer of the court. Dignity!!” he stated.
NASA CEO Norman Magaya also added that the Police were in constant negotiations with the lawyer, and that they had been sending proxies to convince Lawyer to pay the money.