IEBC owes lawyers Sh1.9b, House team told

IEBC Chief Executive Officer Hussein Marjan before the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on July 29, 2024. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) owes lawyers a staggering Sh1.9 billion in pending legal fees for court representation across the country during the 2022 General Election. According to documents tabled before Parliament, of the amount, the electoral agency hired lawyers at a cost of Sh569 million to mount a legal defence in a suit filed at the Supreme Court by Opposition leader Raila Odinga challenging President William Ruto's victory. It attributed the hefty bill to its decision to engage 38 law firms during the legal duel at the Supreme Court pitting Ruto against Raila. Out of the Sh569 million incurred during the petition at the Apex court, a law firm associated with former Attorney General Githu Muigai is owed the highest amount at Sh38.4 million, Abdikadir Hussein Mohammed (Sh26.7 million) while IKM (Karori Karori Kamau SC) is owed Sh26.7 million. Other law firms are Wekesa and Simiyu Advocates, Tiego Advocates, Manyonge and Wanyama Advocates, Murigu, Rigoro Advocates, Garane and Somane Advocates, S.M Kilonzo Associates, Mukele Moni and Company Advocates, Dr Mutiubwa Law and Kibicho and Company Advocates which are owed Sh20.9 million each. IEBC Chief Executive Officer Hussein Marjan is now calling on Parliament to intervene and ensure the availability of funds from the Treasury to settle the billions in pending bills. Appearing before the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to answer audit queries for the 2021/2022 financial year, Marjan explained that the Sh1.9 billion was only a fraction of the total Sh4.85 billion that the Commission owes to suppliers and service providers and that with 90 per cent of the pending bills amounted to legal fees. He told the John Mbadi-led committee that the commission's decision to outsource legal practitioners was because the four lawyers who were part of its staff could not adequately handle the cases emanating from across the country. "Most of the pending bills are made up of fees arising from petitions that have been filed and which must be dealt with because they have a timeline," said Marjan. He explained that after every General Election and once petitions are filed by parties, IEBC relies on advocates to assist the commission do its work. They are then paid in line with the caped fees guideline of 2017. "...However, when we are dealing with other legal matters, we have the advocates' remuneration order which the said lawyers use and this is not capped, meaning lawyers come up with their own figures," he added. IEBC Legal Director Chrsipine Owiye, defended the expenditure in legal fees on the presidential petition, noting that it saved Kenyans billions given that the country did not go for a repeat Presidential election. He estimated that the country would have used Sh12 billion to conduct a fresh election. A re-look at the documents submitted by the Commission indicates that other than the millions owed to lawyers for the presidential petition, the electoral body owes another Sh56 million to lawyers who were hired to handle 12 petitions challenging the election of governors across the country. They handled gubernatorial petitions in Kirinyaga, Narok, Garissa, Malindi, Mombasa, Kajiado, Tana River, Nyamira, Busia, Homa Bay, and Makueni counties. For the senatorial positions, IEBC spent Sh9.3 million in defence of the petitions, Sh13.9 million for the Women Rep petitions, Sh13.9 million for cases touching on MCAs and a further Sh146 million touching on party lists petitions. The Commission also owes Sh24 million accruing from cases touching on the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal Complaints (PPDTC), Sh30.5 million arising from the petitions on registration of candidates, Sh278.97 from new legal fees from constitutional and civil cases and Sh283.7 million from the constitutional Judicial review. Further, it owes Sh55 million to lawyers handling outstanding procurement and review board matters Sh Sh30.4 million for presiding counsel to lawyers hired, Sh11.3 million for assisting counsel to lawyers hired, Sh3.3 million for technical counsel drafting affidavits at Bomas of Kenya and Sh11.8 million for list of oaths files for the 2022/2023 FY. It also owes Sh163 million in judgments and costs awarded against the commission. The House team however pressed Marjan and Owiye to explain the magnanimous amounts dedicated towards legal fees. "So you mean to tell this committee that we should make the country broke so we can pay legal fees amounting to Sh4 billion? If this is not a rip-off, then I do not know what this is," said Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera. Soy MP David Kiplagat sought to get a justification from the commission on the huge legal expenses. Mathioya MP Edwin Mugo said: "It will be interesting to get the report of the Pending Bills Verification Committee." But in their defence, Marjan and Owiye said that the expenditure was part of a strategy to ensure they won cases. "This is a presidential election petition and if we did not have a good strategy, we would not have won which means that we had to work in advance, which in return also meant that we had to pay premiums for lawyers and have time on board two days prior to scan around the environment to see if we would have any petitions. In case no petition is filed we would still pay them," explained the CEO.

IEBC owes lawyers Sh1.9b, House team told

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