Kibaki team unveils trail of events before the final decision

By Beauttah Omanga

President Kibaki’s wing of the Coalition Government hit back at claims by Prime Minister Raila Odinga that there were no consultations before the nominations of four individuals to key State posts.

The document presented to The Standard shows the chronology of events leading to the President’s controversial announcement.

As per the document, consultations started in December, last year, and continued last month.

"The issue of the judicial appointments was in the agenda of a meeting between the President and the PM held before Christmas, last year. During the meeting, the President felt it was better to revisit the issue after the New Year," read the document.

The brief indicated the matter was discussed on January 6, at Harambee House by Kibaki and Odinga.

The two agreed on the procedure, among them identification and consultations before submission to Parliament.

The two principals reportedly agreed that the law did not require the selection of the candidates by either the Judicial Service Commission or Public Service Commission.

The technical team was instructed to identify suitable candidates to facilitate further consultations. In the technical meetings, it was observed that the PM wanted an external CJ, but Kibaki insisted the country had enough qualified personnel.

It explains that on Thursday, January 27, the item was on the agenda in a meeting held from 12pm between the principals at Harambee House.

During the meeting, Kibaki presented his proposal borrowing on the consultations held by the technical teams, with representatives from him and the PM. The President proposed Justice Kihara to take the position of CJ, deputy CJ to be filled by a woman through the JSC, Fred Ojiambo to become AG and Kioko Kilukumi Director of Public Prosecution.

In response, the PM said if the President could not agree to have a judge from the Commonwealth to become the CJ, then Bench seniority should prevail. Justice Riaga Omollo would take the job as the senior-most judge in the current Bench after Chief Justice Evan Gicheru. Justice Kihara is ranked 21.

The President is reported to have pointed out that he needed to make appointments before he left for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the AU meeting.

Technical team discussed

"It was, therefore, decided that the technical team discusses the lists and reports back the same day in the afternoon. The team included Francis Muthaura, Mohamed Isahakia, Nick Wanjohi and Caroli Omondi.

The team reported separately that they had agreed on three of the positions, but could not agree on the CJ. The team presented three options for the CJ, Justice Omollo, Justice Kihara or Justice Alnashir Visram for consideration.

At the same time, the President asked the PM to propose an AG to replace Ojiambo, as the job of AG, being the chief legal advisor of the Government, required higher post-graduate qualifications. Prof Githu Muigai was proposed and agreed on by both technical sides. Kibaki said because he was to travel to Addis Ababa on Saturday, the matter needed to be finalised by 12pm on Friday. It was imperative that the proposals were made for the sake of the AU meeting.

The report indicates this was made clear to Raila.

The VP stated in Parliament yesterday that on Friday morning, the PM sent a letter signed by Omondi before the President left for Ethiopia, that consultations could be facilitated at a later date.

PM’s concerns

The President then proposed Justice Visram as CJ to accommodate the PM’s concerns of neutrality. The VP told Parliament the PM was asked to call the President from Addis Ababa so they could finalise, and the President waited at Harambee House from 12.30pm to 3pm without hearing from the PM.

The President, according to Kalonzo, left for State House for lunch at 3pm, and the PM was given a number to contact the President. But the PM did not call.

The report indicates that at 6pm, the State House Comptroller called the PM. Omondi of the PM’s office answered the PM’s phone and after consulting, said the PM would call back after one and a half hours.

The President, the VP said, then felt he had consulted extensively, accommodated the PM and fulfilled the constitutional requirements.