AG: Crack whip on bogus law institutions

Attorney General Githu Muigai has called on the Council of Legal Education to close down institutions offering legal education without accreditation.

Speaking when he officially opened the School of Law building at Kenyatta University, Prof Muigai said the country was in urgent need of more quality trained legal minds, which was being jeopardised by sub-standard training.

“There are a lot of vacancies in the Judiciary, State law office and Director of Public Prosecution’s Office, which calls for more polished scholars and researchers in law,” said Githu.

The AG said there was an urgent need to ensure training in law is not compromised. He said with high quality legal minds, Kenya stands to greatly benefit from the East African Community legal market, which will soon be opened for competition among member countries.

“Universities and colleges offering legal education should ensure their training conforms to the required standards,” he said.

The council’s Chief Executive Officer Kulundu Bitonye said as regulator, they will do everything within their power to ensure quality legal training is maintained.

“We will not hesitate to crack the whip on institutions offering education without the requisite accreditation from us,” said Prof Kulundu. He said there are 22 institutions currently providing legal education training in the country, with only seven being fully accredited. “The other 14 are on the way to full accreditation,” he said.

Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor Olive Mugenda said they were going to develop a centre of excellence in law for the region.