The appointment of Dorcas Oduor as the Kenya’s ninth Attorney General (AG) was received with jubilation, not only because she was the first woman to hold the position but also because the post was given to a career prosecutor.
Before her appointment and swearing into office on August 14, Ms Oduor was the secretary of public prosecutions at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
She started her career as a State Counsel in 1991 and rose through the ranks.
Among those who welcomed her nomination and eventual appointment were former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi.
“A forthright court room advocate with a solid legal mind distinguished in public law practice and office administration, Dorcas Oduor SC is an appropriate choice for AG. Congratulations Madam Attorney General. Serve with distinction,” Mr Havi said in a post on X.
A few weeks later, the two would face-off in court in what almost turned out ugly, as Ms Oduor appeared for Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli, who had been convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court.
Her appearance in court seemed to have rattled many as they felt that defending Mr Masengeli was not in public interest.
Other than Ms Oduor, Solicitor General Shadrack Mose was in court alongside State Counsels Charles Mutinda and Emanuel Bitta as well as lawyers Cecil Miller and Steve Ogolla to defend the besieged police officer.
The altercation in court started when Ms Oduor attempted to serve some court documents on Mr Havi and other lawyers representing the LSK.
LSK filed the case on behalf of three men who disappeared a month ago in Kitengela, prompting the filing of a habeas corpus case, seeking their production.
The three men, activist Bob Micheni Njagi and brothers Jamil and Aslam Longton were found alive in the morning of September 20 at Gachie, in Kiambu County.
“Sit down,” shouted Mr Havi as the AG fired back asking the former LSK president to respect people.
“We are all adults. Why do you behave like that?” Ms Oduor said.
As the AG, Ms Oduor is the government’s principal legal advisor, responsible for representing the national government in court or any other legal proceedings to which the national government is a party (other than criminal proceedings).
The AG is also 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, among others.
The office also provides 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.
Ms Oduor also leads, negotiates, drafts and vet local and international instruments, treaties and agreements involving the government and its institutions, among other functions.
And when she appeared in court to defend Mr Masengeli, Ms Oduor submitted that when the orders of the court were served upon Mr Masengeli to appear in court on August 29, to explain the whereabouts of the three men, he was already in Lamu on official duty.
She said Mr Masengeli and other senior officers had travelled to the coastal town to attend to urgent security concerns.
" The main objective of setting facts is not to excuse the failure by Mr Masangeli to attend court. It is hoped, however... that it will demonstrate that he did not deliberately degenerate this honourable court as has been characterised by counsel for the petitioners and others,” Ms Oduor pleaded.
She said the apology Mr Masengeli wished to tender in court was without reserve.
“In my humble submission...I plead with this honourable court to take into account the extenuating circumstances narrated by Mr Masengeli in his affidavit,” she said.
She explained that the case was not just a simple instance of clash of loyalties but was rather a case of a security official caught up in the horns of a dilemma in the midst of a serious and delicate security emergency.
Ms Oduor said it was easy in such circumstances for one, perhaps without deliberate intentions but instinctively to gravitate towards national security operations over personal tribulations.
“It is on this basis that we plead with you to exercise your judicial. My lord may you tamper grace with mercy in the realisation that the actions of Mr Masengeli in this case, were not sheer or brazen but of loyalty of a citizen gone wiry in the course of doing his best in a bad situation; to serve two pressing and seemingly equally demanding solemn duties,” she pleaded with the court.
She was quick to inform the court that the last time she appeared before Justice Lawrence Mugambi was in a different capacity and that she was grateful to appear in court.
Ms Oduor holds a master’s degree in International Conflict Management and an LL. B Degree from the University of Nairobi alongside a Law Diploma, from the Kenya School of Law.
She is also a Senior Counsel and holds several honours including Elder of the Burning Spear (EBS), and Order of the Golden Warrior (OGW).
Ms Oduor has previously chaired the multi-agency task team on post-election violence and took part in the development of various Acts such as the Proceeds of Crime and Anti Money Laundering Act, Organised Crime Act, Mutual legal assistance Bill and Terrorism Bill.
Early this year, President William Ruto had appointed her as the lead counsel to the tribunal appointed to investigate the conduct of Justice Mohammed Noor Kullow, a judge of the Environment and Land Court.
Ms Oduor is an alumnae of Lwak Girls High School and served as the assisting counsel in the Akiwumi Commission on land clashes, a similar post she played in the Bosire Commission on the Goldenberg Affair, which was conducted between 2002 and 2003.
She was also the assisting counsel in the Kiruki Commission, which investigated the Armenian brothers famously known as the Artur Brothers, which was held between June and September 2006.
