Government gives notice to reconstitute Council for Legal Education

The government has given a notice to reconstitute Council for Legal Education board.

In a letter dated February 23, Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua also notifies CLE Chief Executive Officer Kulundu Bitonye that the term of the board has been reduced to three years.

“By way of this letter you are hereby notified that pursuant to Section 4 of the Legal Education Act as duly amended…the tenure of the current Council for Legal Education is capped to three years from the previous four years,” reads the letter.

The letter addressed to Bitonye further says: “The new board shall be reconstituted in due course.”

This means that time is running out for current board which will be rendered out-of-date immediately the new one is put in place.

Council for Legal Education (CLE) Chief Executive Officer Kulundu Bitonye. The government has given a notice to reconstitute Council for Legal Education board. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

Chairman Fred Ojiambo, Joel Ngugi (represents Chief Justice), Christine Agimba (represents Attorney General) and Indenje Wanyama (represents Treasury) are the current Council members.

Others are Eric Mutua, Judy Thongori, Kenneth Akide and Getrudes Angote (represents LSK), John Chebii (represents Public university), and Bitonye.

President Uhuru Kenyatta approved (in 2014) the amendments to the Legal Education Act, 2012 that also changed the appointing authority of the Council chairperson.

The president will henceforth appoint the chairperson of the Council of Legal Education, a function previously performed by the Attorney General.

The new law also slashed representation of persons nominated by the Council of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) from four to two and expanded membership to the Council to include one slot each for both public and private universities.

A copy of the miscellaneous amendments seen by The Standard deletes the entire section 4 (5) (a) and replaces it with:

“The chairperson, who shall be a person with at least fifteen years’ experience in matters relating to legal education and training, appointed by the president.

The section previously read: “the chairperson, who shall be a person with at least fifteen years’ experience in the legal profession or in matters relating to legal education, upon whom the rank of senior Counsel has been conferred by the President under section 17 of the Advocates Act (Cap 16) and who shall be appointed by the Attorney-General.”

Sources in the legal practice said the amendment was necessary because the AG, who appointed the chairperson of the Council was also a member of the same Council.

Section 4 (5) of the Act lists members of the Council to include Principal Secretary of education and Finance, the AG, Chief Justice, representation from LSK and one slot for universities.

A new section 4 (5) (i) has been introduced to read: “one person who teaches law in a private university, nominated by private universities.”

This means that for the first time, private universities will have equal representation in the critical body that regulates legal training in the country

Public universities are already represented.

The Council is critical because it regulates legal education and training offered by education providers in Kenya.

According to section 8 (1), the body is also mandated to license legal education providers, supervise legal education providers and advise the government on matters relating to legal education and training.

In carrying out its functions, the Council is expected to make regulations in respect of requirements for the admission of persons seeking to enroll in legal education programs and also establish criteria for recognition and equation of academic qualifications in legal education.