President William Ruto has challenged the office of the Attorney-General to ensure that the government gets the best legal advice to enable it to discharge its constitutional responsibilities.
The President said that he expects the Office of the Attorney-General to be proactive in offering the best legal representation against outrageous court awards against the government.
“I expect no less than the best from you. I know you have the requisite experience, understanding and knowledge to work and deliver,” said President Ruto.
“I am confident that you are adequately prepared to ensure that the government gets the best legal advice, guidance and support that is necessary to discharge its responsibilities as per the constitution,” the President added as he paid a glowing tribute to the outgoing Solicitor-General Mr Ken Ogeto.
The Head of State told Mr Ogeto that his distinguished service will not go unrewarded. Mr Ogeto was appointed in March 2018 for a five-year tenure.
The Solicitor-General is the accounting or administrative officer at the State Law Office that is headed by the Attorney-General, the chief government attorney, who is in charge of policy formulation.
Currently, the government is settling hundreds of billions of shillings in court awards. President Ruto reminded the State Law Office that “any court award against the government is an award against the people of Kenya.”
“I am sure that the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General have the correct understanding and appropriate knowledge of what needs to be done to secure the people of Kenya from people who take the government to court for awards. The interests of the people need to be secured,” the president said.
“We have so many court awards but many are not deserving. We have no problem settling awards that merit and obtained in the correct manner but others are just outrageous and have no merit.”
The President told Mr Mose to ensure that he “particularly pays attention” to legislation that will ensure that Kenya creates an environment for Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) noting that the overall policy of the government is to borrow less and invest more.
“We want to make Kenya an attractive destination for investments. The right legal framework necessary to enable the investors to have the confidence to invest in our country is developed.”
The President assured Mr Ogeto that leaving the State Law Office is not the end of his career.
“I want to thank my good friend Ken Ogeto. I have worked with him even during the transition period. I am confident and I have told him the future is bright,” said the President.
“He will move on to other responsibilities that will tap from the experience he has acquired to be able to serve the country in other capacities. I have already told him that I look forward to working with him.”
The President noted that Mr Ogeto “has been very useful in resolving some of the outstanding issues” between the government and other entities that we have contractual obligations with.
“Thank you very much for what you have done in the service of our great nation. Your distinguished service will not go unrewarded. We will work together going into the future,” the President said.
Among the issues that the President reminded Mr Mose to prioritise include his proposals to amend the Constitution to create the position of leader of the official opposition, entrench the National Government- Constituency Development Fund, National Government Affirmative Action Fund and the Senate oversight fund into the Constitution.
