Team to draft new laws set up

Lawyers to lead a team that will draft 49 Bills to implement the new Constitution have been identified.

Kenya Law Reform Commission chairman Kathurima M’Inoti and Chief Parliamentary Counsel Margaret Nzioka are leading the government team preparing the Bills.

This came to light amid reports that Attorney General Amos Wako would fly to London next week in search of experienced drafters to join the government team.

Number of drafters

The team’s membership is drawn from the AG’s chambers and the Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC).

On Thursday, a top government official who sought anonymity because the Constitution Implementation Committee is yet to be established, said Mr M’Inoti was in charge of drafters based at the KLRC while Ms Nzioka was leading the team at the AG’s office.

Though the official declined to disclose the number of drafters on the government team, the Nation learnt that there were three at the KLRC and five at the AG’s chambers.

Asked about the drafting team, Mr Wako said: “At the moment, we have a pool of drafters from the Law Reform Commission and others in my office. They are working on the Bills but we are still negotiating for more experienced drafters.”

Mr M’Inoti, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Nairobi, has been a commissioner at the International Commission of Jurists since 2003 and is a former chairman of the ICJ-Kenya Chapter. He also taught Public Law at the University of Nairobi between 1990 and 1993.

Ms Nzioka, who led a team that edited the draft Constitution at the AG’s office, is an experienced drafter who has worked on tens of dozens of Bills.

The team has so far drafted three of the 49 Bills to be passed by Parliament between now and 2013 to fully implement the new Constitution.

The Commission for the Implementation of the New Constitution Bill was the first to be published on Monday following Cabinet approval last week.

This Bill establishes a nine-member Constitution Implementation Commission that will oversee the drafting of the Bills and the subsequent enforcement of the laws that will implement the new Constitution.

This means the commission will work with the AG’s chambers and the KLRC in preparing the Bills and ensure that each constitutional commission plays its part in bringing the new set of laws into force.

The drafters have also completed the Judicial Service Commission Bill and the Vetting of Judges and Magistrates Bill.

The two Bills were yesterday placed under the scrutiny of the Cabinet Committee monitoring the implementation of the Constitution.

Enormous task

The drafters are to meet again on Tuesday when Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo will publish the Bills on his return from Austria.

The two Bills will then be taken to the full Cabinet for approval.

Mr Kilonzo told the Nation that the government was determined to ensure that the new Constitution, proclaimed by President Kibaki on August 27 at Uhuru Park, was implemented on time.

“We will do all it takes to ensure it is implemented on time. It is an enormous task but I am sure we will make it,” he said on the phone.

Given the complexity of some of the laws that are required to bring into effect the new Constitution, the government has sought assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat in London to recruit more experienced drafters to help the local team.

Assist in recruitment

The Bills that need to be drafted deal with citizenship, the Bill of Rights, leadership and integrity, the Judiciary, devolved government, public finance, the Legislature, the Executive, public service and national security, among others.

Three weeks ago, a representative of Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma was in Nairobi to assess the number of drafters required and promised to assist in their recruitment.

Kenya has more than 30 legal drafters at the AG’s office, the KLRC and Parliament, but not all of them have the experience to tackle the demands of the new Constitution.