COTU Backs Court Order Blocking Government Use of Private Lawyers

The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Kenya), COTU(K), has welcomed the Nakuru High Court's Move to temporarily block all government institutions from seeking legal services from private firms, stressing that this was a misuse of public funds.

In a statement on Wednesday, January 14, the COTU Secretary General, Francis Atwoli, noted that sourcing legal services from private entities had denied state and county legal officers job security and empowerment, despite them being well trained and competent to serve public entities.

Atwoli said the high legal fees charged by private lawyers strain public institutions, resulting in delayed salaries for workers, weakened social protection systems, and declining public service delivery.

"It is very unfortunate that, in most cases, fees payable to outsourced legal services by far outmarch the costs of development and salaries paid to workers in many public institutions," Atwoli said.

"The craze in outsourcing legal services by national and county governments, state corporations and parastatals, only points to the fact that private law firms have become conduits of graft being used by public institutions," he added.

Atwoli has further said that public institutions should seek help from the  Office of the Attorney Generalif their legal officers are unable to handle a legal matter.

According to Atwoli, the move is expected to sharpen practitioners’ legal expertise in line with evolving market demands, enhance accountability for professional conduct, and help curb graft within public institutions.

"COTU (K) therefore fully supports the High Court’s intervention and the suspension of this practice pending full hearing and determination, and we endorse the call for the empanelment of an expanded bench given the substantial constitutional, financial, and labour implications involved," Atwoli said.

The Nakuru High Court made the ruling on Monday, January 12, following a case filed by activists Okiya Omtatah Okoiti and Dr. Magare Gikenyi J. Benjamin.

The petitioners argue that it is unconstitutional for public institutions to use public funds to hire private advocates despite having qualified in-house legal officers.

The  High Court certified the matter as urgent and issued conservatory orders stopping public offices from engaging private advocates until the petition is heard and determined.

The court further directedthe controller of the budget and other public officers not to give a green light on any paymentsfor external legal services during this period.