Senator for Narok County Ledama Olekina has called for a legal fee audit of all county government.
This follows several incidents of governors failing to honour summons by the Senate, instead sending their lawyers to represent them.
In a statement published on his official social media page on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, Ledama stated that the laws of Kenya are clear on the consequences if a Governor or a witness is summoned to appear before the parliament but fails to do so.
“When a Governor or a witness is summoned to appear before parliament but fails to do so, the laws of Kenya including the constitution outline the consequences that follow the action,” he said.
Questioning the events when a governor obtains the services of a lawyer to challenge the consequences after failing to appear before parliament, Ledama asked whether the legal fees are paid by the public or the governor in question.
“What happens when the witness decides to obtain the services of a lawyer to challenge the consequences? Should the public pay the legal fees on behalf of the witness?” he asked.
Ledama further called the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG), The Judiciary Kenya, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Controller of Budget (CoB) to conduct an audit of all county government’s legal fees.
“ @OAG_Kenya? @Kenyajudiciary? @EACCKenya? @CoB_Kenya? It’s time to audit all county governments’ legal fees,” he said.
When a Governor or a witness is summoned to appear before parliament but fails to do so, the laws of Kenya including the constitution outlines the consequences that follows the action. What happens when the witness decides to obtain services of a lawyer to challenge the…
— Sen. Ledama Olekina (@ledamalekina) June 12, 2024
Senate on governors’ use of law firms
On Tuesday, June 11, 2024, Senate Committees examined the petition on the County Government’s use of law firms after concerns were raised about excessive spending and accountability.
The petition tabled before the committee by Executive Director of Grassroot Civilian Oversight Initiative Laban Omusundi, calls on the Senate to restrict county governments from hiring private law firms for court representations.
“The Senate Committees on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations and the Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, and Human Rights, co-chaired by Senators Mohamed Abass and Raphael Chimera, convened today to deliberate on a petition submitted by Laban Omusundi,” the committee said.
“The petition addresses the issue of county governments hiring external law firms to represent them in court cases, despite having County Government Attorneys mandated to perform this role.”
The committee disclosed that upon deliberation, it will invite relevant stakeholders to submit their perspectives on the matter.
“Upon deliberations on the petition and consideration of the petitioner’s views, the committee resolved to invite relevant stakeholders to submit their perspectives on the matter,” the committee said.
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