Attorney General of Kenya

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The Attorney General of Kenya is the head of the Kenyan State Law Office and the principal legal adviser to the government of Kenya and ex officio Member of Parliament and Cabinet. The current attorney general, Paul Kihara Kariuki, was nominated by the President Uhuru Kenyatta on 13 February 2018.[1] His nomination was approved by the National Assembly on the 28th of March 2018, after the requisite vetting process.

History

The Office of the Attorney General draws its mandate from Article 156 of the Constitution of Kenya (2010), which vests on the Attorney General the responsibility of being the Principal Legal Adviser to the Government, to ensure that the rule of law is promoted, protected and upheld and defend the public interest. Further the Office of the Attorney General Act No. 49 of 2012 clearly spells out the functions of the office that include:

  1. Advising Government Ministries, Departments, Constitutional Commissions and State Corporations on legislative and other legal matters;
  2. Negotiating, drafting, vetting and interpreting local and international documents, agreements and treaties for and on behalf of the Government and its agencies; and
  3. Performing any function as may be necessary for the effective discharge of the duties and the exercise of the powers of the Attorney-General.

Duties

The Attorney General's duties include the formulation of legal policy and ensuring proper administration of Kenya's legal system including professional legal education. Assisting the Attorney General in the performance of his duties as Principal Legal Adviser to the Government are:

  • Solicitor General
  • Senior Deputy Solicitor General
  • Director of Public Prosecutions
  • Registrar General
  • Administrator General
  • Chairman of Advocates Complaints Commission
  • Chief Parliamentary Counsel
  • Chief State Counsel

Attorneys General of East Africa Protectorate (1895–1920)

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  • Alfred Karney Young (1906–1909)
  • Ralph Molyneux Combe (1912–1914)
  • Sir Jacob William Barth (1914–1918)[2] (Chief Justice of Kenya, 1920)
  • Ivan Llewelyn Owen Gower (1918) (acting)
  • Robert William Lyall-Grant (1918–1920)[3]

Attorneys General of British Kenya (1920–1963)

  • Robert William Lyall-Grant (1920–1925) [4] (Chief Justice of Jamaica, 1932)
  • Ivan Llewelyn Owen Gower (1925–1926) (acting)
  • Sir Walter Huggard (1926–1929) (afterwards Attorney General of Malaya, 1929)
  • Sir Alisdair Duncan Atholl MacGregor (1929–1934)
  • Walter Harragin (1933–>1941) [5]
  • Sir Stafford W.P. Foster Sutton (1944–1948)[6]
  • Sir Kenneth O'Connor (1948–)[7]
  • John Whyatt (1951–1955)[8]
  • Sir Eric Newton Griffiths-Jones (1955–) [9]
  • Diarmaid William Conroy (–1960) (acting)
  • Sir Eric Newton Griffiths-Jones (1960–1963) [10]

Attorneys General of Kenya (since 1963)

References

  1. ↑ "Management Profile: The Hon Attorney General". Attorney-general.go.ke. 2011-08-29. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  2. ↑ Kenya Gazette 4 Mar 1914
  3. ↑ Kenya Gazette 13 Apr 1921
  4. ↑ Kenya Gazette 13 Apr 1921
  5. ↑ Kenya Gazette - 19 Feb 1935
  6. ↑ http://nigerianwiki.com/wiki/Stafford_Foster-Sutton%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  7. ↑ "Kenya Gazette". 4 January 1949.
  8. ↑ "Institute of Current World Affairs" (PDF). Institute of Current World Affairs. 30 August 1953. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  9. ↑ Britain and Kenya's Constitutions, 1950-1960
  10. ↑ Kenya Gazette 10 Jan 1961
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Oloka-Onyango, J. When Courts Do Politics: Public Interest Law and Litigation in East Africa. p. 280.


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