Nairobi County is moving to tackle its massive and growing legal bills by prioritizing alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms. In a motion passed Tuesday, Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) directed the County Executive to establish new policies aimed at reducing the reliance on costly court litigation.
The motion, championed by Karen Ward MCA Anthony Maragu, mandates the Office of the County Attorney to implement a framework that will make litigation a last resort for resolving disputes involving the county government.
Under the new directive, the County Attorney’s office must within 60 days:
- Establish a structured negotiation framework that utilizes tribunals, mediation, conciliation, and arbitration, in line with Article 159(2)(c) of the Kenyan Constitution.
- Develop a comprehensive County Alternative Dispute Resolution policy to guide future dispute resolutions for the county and its agencies.
MCAs expressed serious concern that a large portion of the county’s annual budget is being consumed by legal fees and court awards, money that they argue could be better spent on development projects.
“Legal fees continue to form the biggest portion of all the pending bills, with more than 20 billion now owed to legal firms,” Maragu stated. “This is something that needs to be tamed.”
Some members of the assembly raised suspicions of deliberate and fraudulent collusion between legal firms and the county’s legal department, alleging that some cases are initiated to generate legal fees.
The MCAs have called on the Law Society of Kenya and the Senate to intervene and help protect counties from what they describe as excessive legal charges.
The Auditor General has consistently flagged the billions owed to legal firms by counties across the country, with Nairobi notoriously leading the list. This new push for alternative dispute resolution is a direct response to the long-standing financial burden and a move to regain control over the county’s spiraling legal costs.
