Maria Mbeneka, The Unending Story of Never Giving Up

The story of Maria Mbeneka is one of hard work, resilience and the urge to always hold on and never losing hope no matter the circumstance.

In April 2016, Maria failed to capture the seat to act as a representative of Law Society of Kenya (LSK) in Nairobi but this did not deter her quest to dream big for other bigger positions.

In November 2016, the East Africa Law Society, an umbrella body of the East African lawyers was holding fresh elections.

Maria saw an opportunity to show her leadership skills at the body. This time, she did not want to be just a representative, but a Vice President at the East African body.

“I knew that there would be vacancies at the East Africa Law Society and I was determined to win this time around,” she said at the time.

In the history of the East Africa Law Society, only one woman had been at its helm as Vice President since its establishment in 1995. That was Kenya’s Defense Cabinet Secretary Rachel Omamo from 2003 to 2004. Maria was simply trying out the old antiquated ‘road less taken.

When the elections were held in Tanzania, Maria Mbeneka went down in history as the second woman to have ever held the position of the Vice President of the society.

In her acceptance speech, she said, “I am not taking this position lightly, I want to make my contribution towards ensuring that the current leadership leaves behind a strong legacy.”

In 2018, Maria Mbeneko is at it again. This time, casting her net into the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Council Membership for 2018 – 2020.

In her four-point manifesto, Maria hopes to focus on legal aid, public interest litigation, and legal aid, specialization, and promotion of clusters within the profession and digitization of services and the legal profession.

“The LSK has the necessary human and capacity to undertake and roll out Pro bono and Legal Aid through its branches and it is imperative that this important aspect of the legal profession is managed by the LSK,” she said.

Maria believes that the promotion of clusters of specialization within the legal profession is inevitable. “The legal profession is dynamic and has undergone tremendous changes over the years from the traditional areas of practice. I, therefore, propose a program which sets up and promotes a dedicated cluster under auspices of the LSEK as well as regional and international experts to offer training, support and mentorship forums for advocates interested in their various areas of specialization,” she said.