Tana River in a spot over Sh629 million paid to undocumented law firms without legal oversight

Tana River County is facing scrutiny after it emerged that Sh629 million was paid to unnamed and undocumented law firms over the past two years, despite the county lacking a legally appointed County Attorney as required by law.

Reports by both the Auditor-General and Controller of Budget show the payments were made without proper documentation or oversight, raising concerns of illegality and fraud.

The revelations point to a persistent violation of both the County Governments Act and the Office of the County Attorney Act, which require the county attorney to be nominated by the governor, vetted and approved by the county assembly before discharging any legal mandate.

According to the reports, the irregularities began in 2022 after the Tana River County Assembly rejected the governor’s nominee for the County Attorney position.

Since then, no fresh name has been submitted for vetting, yet legal services continued to be procured and executed under the authority of an unnamed individual who has been acting as the county attorney without any legal appointment or backing.

Undocumented law firms

In the 2022/2023 financial year, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu flagged Sh475 million paid to unnamed and undocumented law firms. A further Sh30 million was paid without any supporting documentation.

By August 2024, the Controller of Budget flagged an additional Sh124.28 million, raising the total questioned amount to Sh629.28 million.

“The county government continues to engage external legal services unprocedurally despite having a legal department captured in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD) system and drawing salaries,” reads the 2023/2024 Controller of Budget report.

The law stipulates that only a county attorney, properly appointed and vetted, can authorise the procurement of legal services and manage litigation on behalf of the county.

The county attorney's office should also include a solicitor and legal officers for support. In Tana River, however, this structure exists only on paper.

Legal officer

In an interview with the Nation, County Chief of Staff Maurice Osano admitted that a legal officer had been discharging the functions of a county attorney but could not explain how the role came into existence.

“This is a complicated issue… there is a legal officer performing duties under the office of the County Attorney,” Osano said.

Further scrutiny reveals that the county has a fully salaried internal legal team, including two legal officers listed in the IPPD. However, none of them has been appointed or vetted to legally hold the county attorney's office.

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“This means taxpayers are paying twice—once for the internal legal team and again for fake legal services from ghost law firms,” the Controller of Budget report reads.

Call for investigations

Civil society groups have now joined the fray, calling for immediate investigations and accountability.

John Dhadho, the chairperson of the Tana River Civil Society Organisations Network, said the failure to appoint a county attorney is deliberate and meant to facilitate misappropriation of public funds.

“The failure to constitute the office is deliberate. Someone is siphoning funds behind the scenes, and we demand accountability,” Dhadho told the Nation.

He demanded that the individual currently acting as county attorney be surcharged and held personally responsible for the irregular expenditures.

“This is not just mismanagement. It is outright theft and the DCI and EACC should swing into action immediately,” he added.