The legal fraternity is sounding the alarm over a controversial move to centralize the hearing of narcotics cases. Stakeholders are piling pressure on the Law Society of Kenya to mount an immediate legal challenge, warning that the directive threatens the very foundations of fair trial and access to justice.

The push to herd all drug-related cases into a single, centralized court has been met with fierce resistance. Critics argue that this administrative fiat is not about efficiency but control. By removing these cases from the regular court system and placing them under a specific, centralized mandate, the authorities risk creating a "special court" system that lacks the transparency and geographical reach necessary for fair adjudication.

The Constitutional Threat

Legal experts warn that this centralization creates insurmountable barriers for accused persons and their legal teams. The implications are dire:

• Access to Justice: Indigent defendants may be forced to travel long distances or face trial in a jurisdiction far from their support networks and witnesses.
• Judicial Independence: Concentrating sensitive cases in one location raises fears of executive interference and the erosion of judicial discretion.

A Call to Arms

The LSK is now in the eye of the storm. Members are demanding that the society lives up to its statutory mandate to protect the rule of law by filing a petition to quash the directive. "We cannot allow the creation of a parallel justice system," said one senior counsel. The ball is now in the LSK's court; silence is not an option when the integrity of the criminal justice system is on the line.