The Office of the Attorney General plans to establish the office in all forty-seven counties in the country to address the staff shortage and devolve services.
Speaking in Mombasa, Attorney General (AG) Justin Muturi has revealed that there is a shortage of Legal Officers, hampering the efficient delivery of services.
“It’s true there is a shortage of legal officers; we have a crisis of understaffing, and this has continued to pile pressure on the low cadre officers. We are slightly below half of the establishment, which was lastly done in 2020,” said Muturi.
Further, Muturi said the situation is so dire that an officer attends to over 400 files yearly.
“Those that I have can’t even reach halfway the number we need; I am recommending that the human resources we need be top-notch,” he said.
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He also said that the last time the matter was addressed was in 2020.
For instance, in Mombasa, where the AG said there is a deficit of over 30 legal officers, he revealed that the Cabinet has approved the establishment of OAG-devolved offices.
“Three months ago, I got Cabinet approval to establish in every county the Office of the Attorney General. It’s constitutional; the Office of the Attorney General must devolve, so I am beginning to roll it out,” said Muturi.
The AG said that the differences between his office and that of the Solicitor General have been resolved.
The AG challenged legislative drafters to stick to professionalism and ethics to deliver key mandates.
“Let us share what we have; let’s not operate in cocoons; the interdependence of human capital is very important,” said Muturi, urging the experts to share common practices.
The legislation drafters and legal professionals were encouraged to embrace technology in executing their mandates.
