NAKURU, Kenya — The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU-K) has thrown its weight behind High Court conservatory orders issued in Nakuru suspending the hiring and payment of private lawyers by public institutions where in-house legal officers already exist, calling the practice a major source of corruption and waste of public funds.
In a statement on Wednesday, COTU Secretary-General Francis Atwoli said the outsourcing of legal services by national and county governments, state corporations, and parastatals had become a “governance failure” that was draining billions of shillings from taxpayers while demoralising public legal officers.
“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,” Atwoli said. “This happens even as working conditions, collective bargaining agreements, pensions, and service delivery continue to suffer.”
Atwoli said in many cases, the legal fees paid to private firms were higher than development budgets and wage bills in some public agencies, a situation he described as economically unjustifiable and constitutionally troubling.
“The craze in outsourcing legal services only points to one thing — private law firms have become conduits of corruption being used by public institutions,” he said.
The High Court orders suspended all engagement, procurement, and payment of private advocates and law firms by public entities that already have internal legal departments, pending the full hearing of a petition challenging the legality of the practice.
The court also called for the matter to be heard by an expanded bench, citing its far-reaching constitutional, financial and labour implications.
COTU argued that the widespread outsourcing of legal work had contributed to job insecurity among government lawyers, weakened public institutions financially, and undermined service delivery.
“The continued outsourcing of legal services and the hefty fee notes issued have left many public institutions financially weakened and workers exposed to delayed salaries, underfunded social protection and deteriorating public services,” Atwoli said.
The trade union body maintained that where public institutions lack capacity to handle complex cases, the matters should be referred to the Office of the Attorney-General or county attorneys, rather than being outsourced to private law firms.
“The Attorney-General, county attorneys, and other government legal officers are well-trained professionals employed to serve public interest. They should be given the chance to practise their craft and be held accountable for their actions,” Atwoli said.
He also called for better training, improved working conditions, and competitive remuneration for public sector lawyers to retain top legal talent within government.
COTU said it fully supports the High Court’s intervention, describing it as a critical step toward protecting public resources, restoring professionalism in the public service, and strengthening accountability in government.
