RIPE times: Charles Kanjama and the LSK at a Constitutional crossroads

Introduction

On the evening of 19 February 2026, as

results filtered in from the Law Society of

Kenya’s electronic voting system, a pattern

became clear. Senior Counsel Charles

Kanjama had secured a decisive lead.1

 By

the time the final tally was announced, he

had been elected the 52nd President of the

Law Society of Kenya (LSK) for the 2026–

2028 term, defeating policy and legislative

development expert Peter Wanyama in a

closely watched race. Kanjama garnered

3,728 votes in an election that drew

thousands of advocates across the country to

participate in one of the most consequential

contests in the Society’s recent history.2

In his brief remarks after the declaration,

Kanjama thanked members for exercising

their democratic will and called for unity

within the profession. The tone was

measured. There was no triumphalism.

Instead, he spoke of responsibility.

The setting was professional, almost

understated. But the stakes were not. The

LSK assumes new leadership at a time when

Kenya’s constitutional order is under strain.

The 2027 General Election is less than

eighteen months away. Public confidence

in institutions remains fragile. Judicial

independence has been tested by political

rhetoric and social media campaigns.

Lawyers themselves are divided over how

forcefully the Bar should confront the state.

What kind of leadership does the Law Society

of Kenya require at this moment, and what

does Charles Kanjama’s “RIPE” agenda offer

in response? This article examines that

question. It looks at the man, the office he

now holds, and the institutional and political

environment in which he must operate.

The making of a Senior Counsel

Charles Kanjama was admitted to the Bar

in 2003 after studying law at the University

of Nairobi and completing training at the

Kenya School of Law.3

 Over the next two

decades, he built a practice that combined

commercial law, constitutional litigation,

and governance advisory work. He is the

Managing Partner at Muma & Kanjama

Advocates, a Nairobi-based firm known

for corporate and public law matters. In

2022, he was conferred with the rank of

Senior Counsel, an honour reserved under