Public Uproar Forces Governors To Cower Over Private Law Firm Hiring
The Council of Governors (CoG) announced on Monday a plan to save public funds by using internal lawyers in a variety of court cases.
In a statement, the council emphasized that this would reduce outsourcing and save public resources, which has been a problem in the past, with some counties being penalized for spending billions on external lawyers.
“County Attorneys and lawyers at the Council of Governors are increasingly handling court cases without involving external lawyers.”
County Attorneys and lawyers at the Council of Governors are increasingly handling court cases without involving external lawyers. This has significantly reduced outsourcing and saved public resources. pic.twitter.com/p1hjI9pKdu
— Council of Governors (@KenyaGovernors) July 8, 2024
This was announced after the CoG legal committee presented their findings to the Senate Committees on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, as well as Justice, Legal Affairs, and Human Rights.
“County Attorneys are competent and qualified legal professionals however, cases affecting County Governments may require specialized experts in various fields,” read part of the statement.
Furthermore, the Council stated that in some cases, which may be diverse or complex, technical expertise is required.
This came after the Grassroot Civilian Oversight Initiative filed a petition to prevent county governments from hiring external law firms to represent devolved units in court.
During the committee meeting, the Council’s representatives explained that external law firms were hired to ensure that the cases were handled by professionals with the appropriate level of expertise for each scenario.
Earlier on Monday, the Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC) proposed to the Senate an amendment to the Office of the County Attorney Act to allow counties to procure legal services.
According to the proposal, county ministers must first confirm with the county attorney that the devolved unit has the expertise to meet a specific need before hiring a consultant or external law firm.
The commission’s CEO, Joash Dache, argued that implementing the aforementioned recommendations would reduce the misappropriation of limited public resources.
“This approach is consistent with established practices at the international, national level and among other state institutions, reflecting a commitment to leveraging specialised expertise to address complex legal challenges,” Mary Mwiti, the CoG CEO stated while making her case.
Public Uproar Forces Governors To Cower Over Private Law Firm Hiring
