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{
    "id": 1551977,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1551977/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 760,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "When this report was tabled, the Speaker directed that the two committees convene and deal with this particular Petition. In this Petition, Mr. Omusundi made several prayers, which, according to him, can be handled by this House. One of them was to restrain county governments from hiring law firms in civil cases by establishing a legal framework to protect public funds. Secondly, he requested that the House recalls any subject that is already commissioned to law firms other than county attorneys. Thirdly, he requested that we put in place measures that will deter deliberate and erroneous administrative decisions and ensure that everybody is held responsible personally for any administrative decision they make that may end in courts and therefore requiring services of law firms by county governments. Lastly, he asked us to provide any other relief that this House deems necessary. Madam Temporary Speaker, upon setting up of the Joint Committee, we invited various stakeholders. The following are the stakeholders that committed reports and recommendations. We had a total of six stakeholders that included the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), the Controller of Budget (CoB), the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG), the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Council of Governors (CoG) and the County Attorneys Forum (CAF). One of the major stakeholders that we expected to submit a report to the Joint Committee was the Office of the Attorney-General. Unfortunately, they did not send us any response. They did not also present themselves, despite the invites that were made by the Joint Committee. The KNCHR and the CAF did submit their reports which were generally agreeable to the objective of Mr. Omusundi’s on protection of public funds, whereas the LSK, upon submitting a written memorandum, also appeared before the Joint Committee on 1st July, 2024, where they sought for more time to submit additional information and also engage so that they submit more upon deliberating with members of the society as well as other stakeholders relevant to this particular petition. The CoG appeared before the Joint Committee on 8th July, 2024 and presented their memorandum. The analysis that were conducted by the Joint Committee were with regard to the several submissions by various stakeholders, particularly with regard to the relevance of the skills by the personnel in offices of the county attorneys in various counties for purposes of handling complex issues, which is one of the reasons the CoG said justifies their retention of external law firms when complex cases are filed against county governments. The other major issue that was raised was the aspect of remuneration of all the county attorneys and employees within the county governments. In most cases, they claimed that they are underpaid and therefore not properly motivated to engage in supporting county governments in legal matters. The other aspect which was specifically argued by a number of stakeholders was insufficiency of the funds allocated to the Office of the County Attorney that hampers service delivery and by extension requires that services from external law firms are The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}