Tobiko was then in private practice ,representing former cabinet minister Julius Sunkuli in a rape case. Many saw his remarks as utterly disrespectful of FIDA . Tobiko was arguing his client’s case , which was finally withdrawn, and a whole soap opera followed. I am sure you all know the story of how the girl in question appeared on TV after withdrawing the complaint.

In retrospect, Tobiko’s remarks may have had some truth. In the recent past, the role of FIDA has become increasingly questionable. Though Tobiko is now Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and may have toned down his feelings about FIDA, others may not have.

It has become the perception now that FIDA is only heard representing clients when one of the culprits is an MP or a “fat cat” to be brought down a notch. Does it mean these powerful men's victims are the only people suffering? Of course FIDA will say that the media is biased towards big headlines and does not report on smaller cases, but how manyof these are there really? There may be many stories of people who have written to FIDA and not gotten responses.

To further assess the situation, I had a chat with Jo,my friend from before who gave the little girl a ride. I sought to know why she did not refer the mother to FIDA. “FIDA is not for desperate people, its all about big people and big publicity. For me I saw it as a social issue and not a political one like FIDA likes them,” said Jo.

As a female lawyer, Jo apologized profusely that she did not see FIDA as a representative of the poor. For her, FIDA is all about show business, power and the quest for donor money. In short, the bigger the culprit, the bigger the story. FIDA will argue that the introduction of retainer fees may be important to sustain the organization, but the organization has moved its offices to Lavington, a posh area. Whether these new offices are accessible or not, may not be obvious, but it does not seem much like the action of an organisation that is pinching pennies to serve the poor. Having offices in Lavington is not the best gesture, how many people can access the offices? How far do they walk or are expected to drive?

This may seem like harsh judgment on FIDA, but when I called their offices for a response , they promised to call back with an explanation. I am still waiting.

Back to the question- are FIDA mere busy bodies? Does it exist merely to chase after bigwigs and loud headlines or is it for the Kenyans with brown teeth and bad breath? I have found no reason to be persuaded that it actually cares for the poor and the weak. I have met quite a number of people stranded at the law courts wondering where their FIDA lawyers are, only to be told that the lawyers came, adjourned the cases and left.

With the rising cases of rape, violence against women among other crimes in Kenya, one would have expected FIDA to have their strong presence in Naivasha, Kiambu, Nyeri, and Kisumu among many other areas that such crimes are prevalent. If you do not hear of FIDA in such areas, what do you expect of those silent sufferers who can only write a letter and hope it is followed up?