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 Mr. Laban Omusundi. 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 petition calls on the Senate to restrain county governments from hiring private law firms for court representations. The petitioner, Laban Omusundi, Executive Director of Grassroot Civilian Oversight Initiative, raised several critical points. He highlighted the "excessive expenditure on law firms," stating, "Over billions of taxpayers' money are spent on law firms for court representations, despite the existence of County Government Attorneys, established under the County Government Act, who are already funded to perform this role."

Supporting Omusundi's claims, Senator Richard Onyonka, who sits on the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC), confirmed the financial strain caused by legal fees. "I am fortunate to sit in CPAC, and indeed counties have pending bills on legal fees amounting to over 50 billion," remarked Senator Onyonka.

The petition also addressed the issue of administrative misconduct. Mr. Omusundi suggested that some court cases arise from deliberate administrative decisions, implying potential corruption where public officials benefit through kickbacks from these law firms.

Omusundi further argued that this misuse of public funds undermines the objectives of devolution, which aims to bring services closer to the people, particularly affecting the healthcare sector. The petitioner seeks to "restrain county governments from hiring law firms for civil court cases by establishing a legal framework, recall any law that does not prioritize public interest in this context, and implement measures ensuring personal responsibility for administrative decisions leading to court cases." Additionally, he called for any other necessary reliefs deemed appropriate.

Senator Okoiti Omtatah provided a contrasting perspective, stating that the constitution is structured in a liberal way. He acknowledged that the petition could have far-reaching consequences on the national level, as hiring consultants in government is common. He challenged Omusundi, questioning, "How about other professions, say engineers? Why would the government hire consultant engineers when we have government engineers?"

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.