MCA files motion to curb Nairobi’s ballooning Sh21 billion legal bills through ADR
Karen MCA Anthony Maragu has filed a motion compelling Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration to prioritise alternative dispute resolution mechanisms before resorting to costly litigation.
Nairobi County Assembly has been drawn into a fresh debate over runaway legal fees after a motion was tabled seeking to curb the rising bills that have burdened the county with over Sh21 billion in pending payments.
Karen MCA Anthony Maragu has filed a motion compelling Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration to prioritise alternative dispute resolution mechanisms before resorting to costly litigation.
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The move comes amid an Auditor-General’s report exposing Nairobi as the top spender on legal costs among all counties, with Sh21.3 billion in unsettled legal fees in the 2023–24 financial year.
The audit shows that out of this amount, Sh6.2 billion is owed to only four advocates, accounting for nearly a third of the total debt. Despite having a fully staffed legal department, City Hall continues to outsource cases to private law firms, often without competitive bidding or proper approval processes. In the capital, 65 of 159 cases were handled by just eight advocates, with no clear justification provided.
The motion warns that the ballooning legal bills are unsustainable, draining resources that could otherwise support public services. It notes that alternative mechanisms such as negotiation, arbitration, and conciliation are less adversarial, faster, and more cost-effective.
“Concerned that a significant portion of the county’s annual budget continues to be spent on settling court awards and legal costs resulting from litigation initiated by the county legal department, with many of these matters capable of resolution through alternative means,” it reads.
It adds that prolonged court battles deplete county resources and lead to judgments that could have been avoided. “The assembly therefore urges the county executive, through the office of the county attorney, to ensure that litigation is used strictly as a last resort in resolving disputes involving the county executive,” the motion states.
The MCA further calls for the Sakaja administration to establish structured negotiation frameworks and institutionalise mediation, arbitration, conciliation, and tribunals in line with Article 159(2)(c) of the Constitution. The proposal gives the administration 60 days from adoption of the motion to comply.
Additionally, Maragu wants the county to develop a formal Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) policy within 60 days to ensure disputes involving Nairobi and its agencies are handled in a structured manner for the long term.
The Auditor-General’s findings highlighted that opaque outsourcing of legal services remains a widespread challenge across counties, where billions of shillings are lost through non-transparent engagements with external lawyers despite the presence of qualified in-house legal teams.
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