KNHCR DIVIDED

The full extent of a split at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights came to light Friday with accusations that a section of members were sabotaging its work.

Deeply-seated ethnic and political interests and claims of insubordination have emerged as the reasons that pushed former vice chairman Omar Hassan to quit his post on Thursday.

In an e-mail letter of resignation that Mr Omar sent out to the eight commissioners, he warns that KNCHR was facing difficult times.

“I must caution that KNCHR is undergoing a difficult moment to which we must as a whole address ourselves to,” he wrote.

“Nonetheless, it must be noted that KNCHR’s greatest strength lies with the public and it will be our undoing should we lose this critical and most important constituency.”

During a press conference at the Commission’s offices Friday, Mr Omar accused some commissioners of attempting to blackmail him with threats that they would vote him out as vice chair.

Commissioners, by law, elect a person from their ranks to serve as the vice chairperson.

“Some people wanted to manipulate me simply because they elected me to the position of the vice chairman. They can take it back,” he said.

Whittle down

According to a source at the Commission, six commissioners have been attempting to whittle down the authority the former vice chairman has gained from his frequent encounters with the media.

The idea was to have the chairperson become the official spokesperson of the commission, but Mr Omar said the KNCHR Act does not have such a provision.

The source, who cannot be named for he is not authorised to speak to the media, said the six commissioners convened a meeting sometimes last month in which the chairperson Ms Florence Simbiri-Jaoko and Mr Omar were made aware but not invited to attend.

“From the meeting, Hassan (Omar) was confronted with six accusations or Action Areas namely, of assuming the role of the Commission’s spokesperson, disrespect for and poor relations with other commissioners, failure to attend official meetings, and generally unbecoming behaviour which he was asked to respond to,” the source said.

The commissioners, who attended the meeting, were apparently uncomfortable with Mr Omar’s frequent appearances on the media, which they claimed undermined the position of the chair and the image of the organisation.

On Friday, the former vice chairman acknowledged receiving such a letter and said that he had responded to the issues raised therein.

“They (the commissioners) spent three days sitting to discuss one commissioner,” he said.

In his resignation letter, he said his accusers were trivial. He added that as a vice chairman, he was satisfied with the work he has done.

“My resignation is founded on the firm belief that I have executed my responsibilities as vice chair and more importantly as commissioner diligently and courageously in a manner that in my view serves the best interest of Kenya,” the letter reads in part.

“While I appreciate your feedback on most of the matters with respect to my role as vice chair, I am of the view some of the issues are not fundamental and nothing that I have done is ultra vires to (beyond the provisions of) the law or spirit of the KNCHR Act.”

Ms Jaoko told the Saturday Nation that the commission will convene a meeting soon to discuss the matter of the resignation of her deputy as well as the issues that have emerged. She declined to comment beyond that pleading with the media to give the Commission time to meet first.

"We shall communicate to you once we hold a meeting to deliberate on all these matters,” she said.

Mr Omar also reiterated that he would be taking a petition to the Chief Justice Evan Gicheru to commence public inquiry on the conduct of one of the commissioners accused of leaking vital witness information.

“What this particular commissioner has done is criminal liability and it is time we put our feet down,” he said.

When the issue of witness information first came up in April, KNCHR put up an advert in which the chairperson Ms Jaoko downplayed the leak, saying there was no evidence that a commissioner compromised witnesses' security.

The Raila-Ruto rivalries are also said to have fuelled the tension within the commission as ethnic and sectarian interests pushing members to "protect their own."

The critical point for the commission, the source said, was after the PM suspended then agriculture minister Mr Ruto over corruption allegations.

Ms Jaoko and Mr Omar issued an opinion that the PM could have acted within the law, which did not go down well with certain commissioners.

Mr Omar conceded as much saying that strong sectarian and ethnic interests have lately emerged as serious setbacks to the Commission.

He also accused some commissioners of failing to publicly condemn human rights abuses.