NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 22 – The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has accused some judges and judicial officers of penalising advocates with case dismissals and adjournment fees despite the Society’s nationwide court boycott, warning that it will escalate targeted action against those it says interfered with lawyers’ constitutional rights.Speaking during a media briefing on Wednesday, LSK President Charles Kanjama said the Society had received numerous reports from advocates across the country alleging that some courts proceeded with scheduled matters despite prior notice of the boycott, resulting in adverse orders against lawyers and their clients.“We are concerned that in several instances, some judges and judicial officers have failed to comply with the notice that was issued that lawyers would be exercising their constitutional rights,” Kanjama told news reporters.He said the Society was documenting complaints from members whose cases had allegedly been dismissed or who had been ordered to pay adjournment fees after declining to proceed with matters in line with the boycott.“We are still receiving information from our members who are being forced to proceed with matters, some of whose matters have been struck out with prejudice. Others have been required to pay adjournment fees. We are compiling a full list,” he said.Ahmednasir claims judges sit just 54 days a year as Judiciary faces fresh scrutinyKanjama warned that the LSK reserved the right to pursue further action against judicial officers found to have undermined the boycott.“The Law Society of Kenya reserves and intends to exercise its right to take other action against any judicial officer or any person who interferes with the right of lawyers to push for accountability,” he stated.The Society urged advocates to continue observing the nationwide boycott throughout Wednesday while documenting any incidents arising in court stations across the country.Kanjama also announced that the LSK would intensify its indefinite targeted boycott against specific judges and magistrates previously named by the Society, saying the experience from the first day of the action had reinforced the need for a total withdrawal from proceedings before those judicial officers.“Based on the information we have received today and the experience so far, it is going to be a total walkout. We are asking every lawyer not to appear in any court before the affected judicial officers,” he said.He added that the Society was preparing formal notices to the affected judges and magistrates requesting that matters pending before them be taken out of their cause lists.The LSK President also criticised what he described as a delay in publishing individual judicial performance data, saying the Judiciary appeared to be retreating from an accountability commitment it had previously made to both the Society and the public.“One of the measures of accountability that the Judiciary promised the Law Society of Kenya and the public is the publication of individual performance data for every judge and judicial officer. We have received communication from the Office of the Chief Justice that they intend to delay that publication because of a case filed a week ago, despite there being no court orders stopping that publication. We strongly deplore this rollback of accountability,” Kanjama said.The latest developments mark a further escalation in the standoff between the legal profession and the Judiciary over concerns including judicial accountability, case backlogs, registry inefficiencies and delays in the delivery of rulings.The boycott follows resolutions adopted by the LSK Council directing advocates to stay away from court proceedings nationwide while also imposing an indefinite boycott of specific judicial officers facing misconduct-related controversies.The Judiciary has maintained that courts remain open and that matters should proceed as scheduled, arguing that a boycott primarily prejudices litigants and insisting that concerns over judicial conduct should be addressed through constitutional and institutional mechanisms rather than disruption of court services.Judiciary: Courts will remain open despite LSK boycottKMJA appeals to LSK to reconsider court boycott, cites harm to litigantsThe Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA) has similarly appealed to advocates to reconsider the boycott, warning that withdrawing from court proceedings imposes the greatest burden on litigants while calling for dialogue through established justice-sector forums.