After Parliament’s approval, President William Ruto has officially appointed former Kitutu Masaba MP Shadrack Mose as the next Solicitor General.
Mr. Mose replaces Ken Ogeto following his official appointment via a gazette notice dated March 15, 2023. Mr. Ogeto was appointed during the presidency of Uhuru Kenyatta.
Mr. Ogeto took over from Njee Muturi, who was promoted to State House Deputy Chief of Staff during the Jubilee administration.
The solicitor general is appointed for a five-year term, with the option to renew for another term. Mr. Ogeto’s term was coming to an end this month.
Mr. Mose, who ran on the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket to defend his Kitutu Masaba Parliamentary seat, was defeated by ODM’s Clive Gisero. Mr. Mose had won the seat on a Jubilee ticket in the 2017 election.
Mr. Mose emerged at the top of the list of three people whose names were submitted for consideration for the job of Solicitor General, the State Law Office.
The other two were Ms Beatrice Mugeni Meso from Busia and Mr George Kithi from Kilifi.
The Public Service Commission invited applications for the position of Solicitor General on November 1, 2022. A total of 18 people applied for the position with eight being shortlisted on November 30, 2022.
Mr Mose is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya with over 29 years of experience in legal practice. He is currently the Managing partner at M/S Mose, Mose and Mose Advocates.
The former lawmaker has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Law, Kenya School of Law and holds a Laws Degree from the University of Nairobi and he also hails from Nyamira county where his predecessor comes from.
President Ruto decided to give Gusiiland the Solicitor General just like his predecessor in a move aimed at elbowing Azimio La Umoja One Kenya boss Raila Odinga from the region.
The Solicitor-General shall assist the Attorney-General in the performance of the duties of the Attorney-General.
Aside from assisting the Attorney General the Solicitor General has several other duties among them to conduct, or assign and supervise all court cases, including appeals or petitions on behalf of the Attorney-General and subject to Article 234 of the Constitution, be responsible for the discipline of state counsels and other members of staff of the office.
The Office of the Attorney General Act also gives the Solicitor General power to formulate and ensure implementation of development strategies for government legal services, co-ordinating the attachment of candidates for pupilage in the office and performing such other duties as may be conferred by law or otherwise assigned to the Solicitor-General by the Attorney-General.
In addition to undertaking the duties of chairperson of the Advocates Disciplinary Tribunal, the Solicitor General performs duties as alternate chairperson of the College of Arms.
It is also a prerequisite for appointment that the holder of the office must be qualified to hold office of judge of superior court under the Constitution and meets the requirements threshold of Chapter Six of the Constitution.
