City Hall Owes External Lawyers Over Kshs 6b In Legal Fees

By Adieri Mulaa

Nairobi City County government owes external law firms a whopping six billion shillings in unpaid legal fees.

The County Public Service Board is on the spot for failure to advertise for hiring in-house advocates in the Office of the County Attorney to reduce the high cost of engaging external law firms.

City Hall has perpetually incurred huge bills in legal fees and the same has been flagged by the Auditor General in the county audit reports.

The situation has compelled the sector to outsource most it’s legal services over the years to handle litigation needs, dating back to the defunct City Council of Nairobi regime.

Apparently, effort by the County Attorney to hire salaried advocates to provide litigation services internally has been ignored by the County Public Service Board.

“I have written to the County Public Service Board severally to advertise for the hiring of salaried advocates but no action has been taken so far”, the County Attorney Lydia Kwamboka told The Times in a telephone interview on Friday 18th February, 2022.

Insiders say the county legal sector was a conduit through which top officials at City Hall siphon millions of shillings from the County Treasury, acting in cahoots with external law firms to bungle suits instituted against the county government.

According to the County Attorney, her intention is to build a well staffed sector, like it is at the Office of the Attorney General. However, the process of employing advocates at City Hall has remained a mirage.

***Nairobi City County Attorney Lydia Kwamboka speaking at a dinner hosted by Governor Ann Kananu in honour of senior county officials who have resigned to seek elective positions.***

On Thursday 17th February, 2022, Mabatini Ward MCA, Wilfred Odalo sought a joint statement from the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare and that of Justice and Legal Affairs regarding understaffing in the Office of the County Attorney.

“Mr Speaker, the Office of the County Attorney is understaffed, with very few lawyers against a large establishment whose services must be efficient and effective”, he told the House.

Odalo, the Chairman of the House watchdog Public Accounts Committee pointed out that since inception of devolution, the city government perennially outsourced most of it’s legal services at high costs.

“Mr Speaker, external advocates charge exorbitant legal fees which could be more affordable if the County had it’s substantive legal personnel”, he told the plenary session.

Problems affecting the County Attorney’s office at City Hall are aggravated by virtually all the sector staff working in acting positions.

Although the County Attorney’s office had requested for advertisement of 17 positions, the PAC chairman told the House, the County Public Service Board had not taken any initiative to expedite the process.

The Speaker has directed the two committees to table in the House a report on:
– The total number of lawyers in the Office of the County Attorney;- The current number of staff in the office, shortfall of legal and para-legal staff required to fill up the existing structure;- Reasons why the County Executive continues to incur huge costs by engaging external lawyers while advocates employed by the County could competently handle arising legal matters;- Why the County Public Service Board advertised for only one post instead of 17 positions as requested by the County Attorney; and- Reasons for the CPSB not to fill the vacancies by the officers currently in acting positions as a priority, before making external advertisement.
A report of the joint committees is expected to be tabled in the House within two weeks.