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Nakuru County fails to prove use of Sh 22million as legal fees

Nakuru County pais Sh 22 million as legal fees to private law firms.

Photo credit: COURTESY/SHUTTERSTOCK

By  JOSEPH OPENDA

Correspondent

Mtaa Wangu

Six private law firms were irregularly paid Sh 22 million as legal fees to represent the Nakuru county executive in various court cases.

The Auditor General report for the financial year 2023/24 has revealed that the county spent a total of Sh 22, 643,700 as legal fees to private law firms without getting the approval from the County executive Committee.

The report reveals that there was no supporting evidence to prove that the lawyers attended the court sessions.

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In addition, the Auditor General notes that there was no documentation to show how the law firms were identified, certificates of appointment, fee notes and monthly performance reports from each law firm in respect to each case that were provided for audit.

The report further questions why the county executive felt the need to acquire the services of private legal practitioners yet it has its own county attorney.

“Despite the county executive having recruited its own county Attorney the private law firms were engaged to represent the county executive in court cases without the approval of the county executive committee,” stated the report.

Due to the lacking documentation, the auditor general notes that the accuracy and completeness of the legal fee’s expenditure could not be confirmed.

The revelations come in the backdrop of a pending petition before the national assembly that seeks to block the county governments from hiring private law firms which is being fronted by a Nakuru resident and accountability champion Laban Omusindi.

Mr Omusundi, the executive director of the Grassroot Civilian Oversight initiative filed the petition in 2023, seeking to have the county executive barred from using public funds to meet the legal expenses delivered by the private law firms, but instead be compelled to utilize the county attorney’s office.

In addition, the petitioner wants the officers found culpable of unlawful administrative actions that attract legal actions such as the procedural termination of county employees be held personally liable for the legal repercussions.

He argues that the huge sums of money paid as legal fees act as kickbacks for the county officers who directly source the law firms.