Why firing of AG Muturi was a wrong move; Lawyer explains
Lawyer Kibe Mungai says the Office of the AG should not be vacant at a time of crisis after Justin Muturi was fired alongside cabinet secretaries
Lawyer Kibe Mungai says the Office of the AG should not be vacant at a time of crisis after Justin Muturi was fired alongside cabinet secretaries.
The decision by President William Ruto to fire the Attorney General (AG) Justin Muturi alongside Cabinet Secretaries was a wrong move, lawyer Kibe Mungai has said.
Speaking to the media, Mungai said the move will put in doubt the legality and legitimacy of decisions Ruto will make to deal with the country’s current crisis since he will not have a legal advisor.
“Though he has State counsel, they are supposed to assist the AG. They are not Attorney General and the Solicitor General is basically a Principal Secretary. The AG is a constitutional officeholder under Article 156. That office cannot be vacant, particularly during a time of a serious constitutional crisis,” he explained.
He added that as long as the government is there and operating, it must continuously base its arguments on the legal advice of the AG.
“The President has created this vacuum and indicated that he will form a broad-based government. It means he might engage leaders from the Opposition. The question that would then arise is on whose advice will the decisions be based on,” he further explained.
He added that whereas the President has powers to remove an AG, it would not be advisable to do it in the middle of a crisis.
“Decisions with a lot of legal and constitutional implications are made during a crisis,” he stated.
Ruto on Thursday fired all Cabinet Secretaries and Muturi in response to youth-led anti-government protests.
Only Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who also is the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary was spared.
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Mungai noted that when the late President Mwai Kibaki dissolved his Cabinet in November 2005, he retained the AG.
“He retained him for the obvious reason that the AG’s office should not be vacant. It should be vacant at a time you believe there is no crisis,” he said.
Mungai added that the Constitution is very clear on who should offer legal advice to the President.
“The President cannot just decide to pick legal advisors from law firms after firing the AG. It is not permitted under the law,” he further explained.
The Attorney-General is the principal legal adviser to the government.
The AG represents the national government in court or in any other legal proceedings to which the national government is a party, other than criminal proceedings; and performs any other functions conferred on the office by an Act of Parliament or by the President.
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