President William Ruto has nominated Dorcas Oduor to the position of Attorney General replacing Justin Muturi who was recently nominated as Public Service Cabinet Secretary.
She currently serves as Secretary of Public Prosecutions at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
“The Head of State and the Government have nominated Dorcas Agik Oduor, SC, EBS, OGW, for appointment to the position of the Attorney-General of the Republic of Kenya. Senior Counsel Dorcas Oduor has vast legal experience spanning over thirty years of practice within the public sector,” read a communique by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei issued yesterday evening.
Oduor is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Laws from the University of Nairobi, and a Master of Arts in International Conflict Management from the same university.
She has previously served in various capacities including Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Head of Economic, International and Emerging Crimes Departments) (ODPP) for over 20 years having begun her career as a State Counsel in 1992.
She also worked as the Deputy Chief State Counsel and as a State Counsel for the (department of Public Prosecution) at the then Office of the Attorney General.
Oduor has been a member in various agencies/commissions including as Chairperson of the Board of Review on Mentally Insane ( Criminal Psychiatric), Assisting Counsel Akiwumi Commission on Land Clashes, Assisting Counsel Bosire Commission on the Goldenberg Affair.
She has worked as the Assisting Counsel Kiruki Commission on Artur Brothers, Joint Secretary Police Reform Commission, (Ransley Commission), Chair of the Board on Criminal Psychiatrists (on behalf of the Attorney General), and member of the National Task Force on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing among others.
During her tenure at the office of the DPP, Oduor has handled some of the major cases including the fraud case against Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, the Sh 1.6 billion Money laundering case against NYS prime suspect Josephine Kabura and Family Bank Limited, and the criminal case involving a police officer Edward Kirui who was charged with murdering a protester during the 2007-08 post-election violence at Kondele estate, Kisumu among others
She has also been actively involved in key transformative agendas that have helped carry out the mandate of the office of the DPP.
Further, the senior prosecutor in the recent past has vied to be a High Court and Court of Appeal judge but unfortunately has been unsuccessful.
In the statement, the Head of Public Service stated that Oduor in her career she has contributed immensely to the development of law in Kenya through litigation, draughtsman, and legal advisories.
“Oduor has demonstrated unimpeachable integrity, impressive professional competence, and steadfast commitment to the rule of law,” Koskei said.
If her nomination is approved by the National Assembly Committee on Appointments, Oduor will make history as Kenya’s first female Attorney General and ninth overall.
Once approved by National Assembly she will be the government’s principal legal advisor, responsible for representing the national government in court or any other legal proceedings.
She will discharge the functions of a Cabinet Secretary in relation to the Department of Justice and therefore, responsible for the promotion of human rights and implementation of the Constitution, access to justice including through the promotion of legal aid, good governance, anti-corruption strategies, ethics and integrity, legal education and law reform.
Oduor will provide policy, coordination, and oversight with regard to various legal sector institutions and therefore has a broader cross-cutting mandate to support the strengthening of legal sector institutions.
As the state advisor, she will also review and oversee legal matters pertaining to Public Trustee and administration of estates and trusts
She will negotiate, draft, and vet local and international instruments, treaties, and agreements involving the Government and its Institutions.
Further, as the Attorney General, Oduor will be a promoter of the rule of law and a defender of the public interest.
Her nomination as Kenya’s Chief Legal Adviser comes after President William Ruto dissolved the Cabinet on July 11, 2024, resulting in the departure of the previous officeholder, Justin Muturi.
Two weeks later President Ruto nominated the former Trade Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano to the same position but later recalled Miano’s nomination as AG and subsequently proceeded to nominate her as Tourism Cabinet Secretary.
Oduor was named alongside Beatrice Askul Moe who was nominated to the position of Cabinet Secretary for East African Community Affairs (EAC) & Regional Development.
According to the communique, Moe is a social scientist who previously served as the County Executive Committee Member in charge of Water, Irrigation, Agriculture and Land Reclamation in Turkana County Government.
Interestingly, Moe was part of the panel which was tasked with picking the running mate for Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the 2022 polls.
“She has previously served as a Director of the Rift Valley Water Services Board, Chairperson Technical Committee of the Rift Valley Water Services Board, Chairperson Audit Committee of the Rift Valley Water Services Board, Project Officer of AMREF Kenya Turkana Project and Relief Officer for the Oxfam Turkana Relief Program.
“The CS Nominee has specialized skills in the development and management of community affairs, towards behavioural and social change in communities,” read the communique in part.
In terms of her academic qualifications, the nominee has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences (Social Work) from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA).
The CS nominee is currently undertaking a Masters Degree in Governance and Ethics.
On the other hand, it was noted that Moe had undertaken various certifications including the County Induction Course at Kenya School Government (Turkana County Government) and Corporate Governance Course (CGC) while serving as a member of the Rift Valley Water Services Board.
She also has training on Audit Committees by KCA University (Institute for Capacity Development, Training of Trainers (TOT) Course for Community-based development by AMREF Kenya and Training in Methodologies for Conducting Baseline Assessment Survey for Food Security and Nutrition Improvement Project Turkana.
Should Parliament approve her nomination, Moe will be replacing Peninah Malonza who was dismissed in the previous Cabinet.
President Ruto’s decision to nominate the duo came weeks after he vowed to form an inclusive government which he termed as broad-based.
