The Senate watchdog committee has directed the Meru County Government to separate the roles of the Office of the County Attorney from the political wing of the County Executive.
The County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) raised concerns after learning that Governor Kawira Mwangaza has not appointed a County Attorney.
Instead, the functions of the office are being handled by the County Executive Committee (CEC) member in charge of Public Service Management and Legal Affairs.
“The encroachment is illegal,” said Senator Moses Kajwang, urging the Governor to comply with legal provisions and appoint a substantive County Attorney.
“The roles of County Attorney cannot be executed by a CEC,” he added, describing the situation as a duplication of roles and a waste of resources.
He said political appointees should never take over the responsibilities of legal affairs.
Section 4 of the County Attorney Act mandates that each county must have a County Attorney, a County Solicitor, and other necessary officers to carry out the functions of the office.
Senator Kajwang stressed that the legal functions of the county should be independent of its political operations.
This directive followed an audit query revealing that Meru County spent Sh38.9 million on legal fees for various court cases in the 2021/22 financial year.
However, the Office of the Auditor General could not verify an additional expenditure of Sh9.4 million due to a lack of explanation and supporting documents from the previous year.
Governor Mwangaza claimed that all relevant case files, court records, and payment vouchers were provided to auditors to justify the increased expenditure.
However, the Office of the Auditor General refuted these claims, stating that no such documents were received.
“Since payments were made based on specific court cases, which differed in the two financial years, the support of the amount paid could only be verified using individual case files,” argued Governor Kawira, a position the Committee rejected.
The Governor further mentioned that Meru County had accumulated 800 court cases, all pending in various courts, but failed to provide a comprehensive list to support this claim.
Instead, she submitted a list of only two cases, which have cost the county over Sh601 million in legal fees.
Shocked Senators demanded a full list of the cases, warning that the 800 cases could threaten the county’s financial stability if they result in unfavorable rulings.
“We need an analysis of these cases,” said Senator Fatuma Dullo.
She said loopholes will have a potential impact on the county’s financial status.
The CPAC has now called on Governor Mwangaza to appoint a County Attorney and ensure that the legal affairs of the county are handled by qualified legal professionals, independent of political influence.
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