Cotu backs court order on State hiring of private law companies

Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli. [File, Standard]

The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) has backed a High Court order stopping government agencies from hiring private lawyers and private law firms to represent them. 

In a statement, the worker’s lobby supported conservatory orders issued by Justice Samuel Mukira of the Nakuru High Court barring public entities from engaging, procuring or paying private advocates and law firms in court cases.

This, the court said, is pending the hearing and determination of a constitutional petition filed by Dr Gikenyi Magare, Senator Okiya Omtatah, and other Kenyans. 

Cotu said the practice discourages state-employed lawyers and weakens public institutions, terming it a serious governance failure and a waste of public resources.

“Billions of Kenyan shillings have been sunk into private law firms that continue to issue outrageous fee notes to public institutions financed by taxpayers’ money, even as working conditions, collective bargaining agreements, pensions and service delivery continue being affected,” said Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli.  

According to Cotu, the government entities, largely seek the services of the private practitioners at exorbitant costs higher than the salaries paid to legal staff in many public institutions. 

“The craze in outsourcing legal services by national and county governments, state corporations and parastatals, only point to the fact that private law firms have become conduits of corruption being used by public institutions,” Atwoli observed. 

He noted that institutions that are unable to handle cases internally should forward them to the Office of the Attorney General, arguing it has trained lawyers earning tax-payers money. 

Threatens the livelihoods

“As Cotu, we have consistently opposed the outsourcing of services at all levels because it has resulted in job insecurity and demoralisation of workers,” he said. 

In the Monday ruling, the Court directed the Controller of Budget (CoB) to cease approval of any public funds for external legal services, including payments to private advocates and law firms, until the matter is fully heard and determined by court. 

The Cotu’s stance comes amidst uproar within the legal profession as the Law Society of Kenya opposed the court decision, terming it a sustained effort to marginalise private legal practitioners from public sector work. 

LSK President Faith Odhiambo said the ruling only seeks to threaten the livelihoods of advocates and revenues of law firms contracted by government agencies and counties. 

“We strongly oppose this ill-advised move and urge those involved to reconsider this overzealous upheaval of legal practice,” she said, vowing to fight it.