Marende nullifies judicial nominations

Written By:Mary Daraja/Graham Kirwa,    Posted: Thu, Feb 17, 2011

Marende said the nominations were unconstitutional and the process should start afresh

The list of nominees to four key constitutional offices will now go back to President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the process to start afresh.

In his ruling house Speaker Kenneth Marende said the nominations were unconstitutional and women were also discriminated against.

Marende said differences between the two principals confirmed that there were no proper consultations before the list of nominees was drawn.

Last month President Mwai Kibaki nominated Alinashir Visram as the new chief justice, Prof. Githu Muigai as the attorney General, Kioko Kilukumi as the director of public prosecutions and William Kirwa as the Controller of budget.

This he said was done in consultation with the Prime Minister.

However the PM and his party distanced themselves from the nominations insisting the Prime Minister was never consulted, a move that threatened to tear the Coalition Government down the middle.

Marende told parliament Thursday that the nomination process disregarded public participation and directed that fresh nominations be conducted in full compliance with the constitution.

Marende told parliament that the Judicial Service Commission should have been involved in the nomination process in accordance with the law adding that such nominations must be beyond partisan interests since the offices were key in bringing reforms in the judiciary.

Marende said given that the process of the nominations had violated the constitution there was no way parliament could cure the anomaly either by the house reports of the committees or by having the report voted for or against in parliament and thus the two principals must go back to the drawing board and follow the law in conducting fresh nominations.

The speaker said based on the unconstitutionality of the nominations the reports by the two committees of justice and Finance were just as good as dead.

In the landmark ruling that saw parliament extend its session past the 6.30. pm time stipulated for it to adjourn, the speaker said the house would  therefore not debate the list of the nominees forwarded by the executive to parliament.

The ruling of the speaker comes even after a report tabled this afternoon by the Justice and legal affairs committee indicated that the process of nomination of the three judicial officers was within the constitution.

The report however had indicated that given the importance the office of the Chief Justice would play in reforming the judiciary and matters surrounding the current nominee named by the president, there was need for fresh re-processing of the process through the Judicial Service Commission.

The report noted that the process for the nomination for the offices of the Attorney General and the DPP was constitutional and the two nominees should proceed to the vetting stage.

The Speaker's move may now look like a win for Prime Minister Raila Odinga who had written to parliament to reject the list of nominees saying consultations were not done in arriving at the names as stipulated in the national accord.