There was drama in virtual a Court proceeding on Thursday, July 21, 2022, when an advocate showed up while being cuddled in bed.
Appearing before Justice Wilfrida Okwany of the High court Commercial and Tax Division, the lady lawyer only identified as Matoke stunned the virtual court session after she logged in court with her man next to her in bed for the mention of a commercial-related matter.
The lawyer’s conduct and mode of dressing prompted several lawyers who were shocked by her behaviour in the virtual session to ask the judicial officer to compel her to dress properly as the court ethics demand on the dressing code of lawyers and other litigants.
Consequently, the advocate was immediately advised to log out of the session to look for a proper place where she could conduct business away from her bedroom while dressed properly before she can log in to follow the court proceedings.
It is not clear which matter the lawyer was following in the Teams Virtual Platform which was introduced by the Judiciary as a measure and intervention for the trial of cases as opposed to parties appearing in court physically.
Court dramas
The Thursday dramatic scene is not the first as other lawyers have been in the past asked by judicial officers (Magistrates and Judges)to dress properly before addressing the court.
In some instances, lawyers have been seen in videos where they had only dressed properly on the upper part of their bodies.
A case in point is where they put on a shirt, tie and blazer as their top part dressing but wear a pair of shorts, and sweat pants contrary to the dress code ethics.
According to the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Dress Code, all lawyers across the country are expected to don suits.
The lawyers’ lobby group has since barred female lawyers from wearing revealing clothes including sleeveless shirts or dresses. LSK has also made it mandatory for male advocates to appear in court clad in dark-coloured suits.
However, in the virtual court session, some of the lawyers have also been caught up in cases while on the road driving which also affects the clarity of their submissions in court proceedings.
In one case a lawyer was working from home and his animals could be heard from the background clucking and mooing which also disbursed that court session prompting the presiding judicial officer to have him either log out or look for a proper place where he could conduct business from without the interruption of his animals.
Female lawyers have not been left out in the online court drama sessions where they conduct their sessions from home while attending to their young ones who disturb the normal flow of proceedings whenever their cases are called out.
