Only nine apply for Judges' vetting jobs

By Martin MutuaKenyans are unwilling to take up vetting jobs for Judges and Magistrates though only nine applied for the 19 posts provided by the Constitution in the Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board.
Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo has already written to Attorney General Amos Wako complaining that this low level of interest in the vetting jobs has undermined the deadline of constituting the board and setting in motion the process as envisaged in the Constitution. It is expected that he will table the amendment in Parliament on Tuesday when the House resumes after Easter break.
Mutula and Wako have since agreed on a draft amendment to the Judges and Magistrates Act, the first to the new Constitution, to allow for fresh invitations for applications in popular media.
Though there is no explanation for disinterest in the vetting jobs by Kenya’s lawyers, it is suspected that many are discouraged by the bitter after-taste and claims of vendetta and witch-hunt that followed a similar exercise under Justice Aaron Ringera during President Kibaki’s first term.
"In the circumstances we propose that the Act be amended to extend the time for making applications. A copy of the draft amendment is enclosed for your perusal and approval before tabling in Parliament,’’ Mutula tells Wako in a letter dated April 20.
He then asks the AG to, "facilitate expeditious approval of amendment of the Act."
Mutula’s letter was triggered by one written to him on April 14 by Mr Titus Gatere, the Chairman of Public Service Commission, to President Kibaki through his office telling him that by close of application phase on April 12, only four applications had been received for chairmanship of the vetting board and five for members.
Gatere also unravelled another complication in the applications received: "Upon opening the applications, the committee noted that the constitutional requirement of gender representation of at least a third was not met…as almost all the applicants were men."
Constitutionally, at least 6 out the 18 members are supposed to women.
He also conceded the Kenya Gazette notice advertising the jobs did not reach, "adequate number of potential applicants and also that the period was too short."
Gatere then proposed, which has since been accepted — to unlock the legal quagmire in the recruitment of the vetting team, that there be extension of application period beyond strict timelines set out in the Act and fresh advertisements be made.
In his letter to Wako, Mutula attached the draft amendment sought to solve the crisis building up in the vetting exercise. If everything had gone according to the timeline set by the Act, gazetted on March 22, the board would have been in place by end of May — 60 days after the positions were advertised.
Government’s interestAccording to an advertisement by PSC on Sunday, the four who applied for the chairman’s seat were: Benjamin Kubo, Sharadkumar Sadashiv Rao, retired Appellate Judge Akilano Akiwumi and Mr Mwangi Kariuki.
The five who applied to be members are: retired Judge Abdul Majid Cockar, Justus Munyithya, Mwangi Kariuki, Mercy Mwarah Deche, J.N. Kamunyori and Thomas Letangule.
The Government’s interest in the completion of the vetting process is stirred by the fact that it is a key pillar of its case at The Hague challenging the admissibility of the cases against Ocampo Six by International Criminal Court.
It is supposed to be a sign to the world that Kenya finally has a credible and independent Judiciary which should be trusted with handling cases related to post-election violence without political meddling and compromises, as well as selective investigations and prosecutions.
When it presented its plea to ICC judges, the Government had promised that judicial reforms would have been enacted within five months. Now it is official that the road to complete judicial reforms is not all that smooth.
The snag in the vetting process came to light on April 14 when the PSC called a meeting attended by officials from Office of the President, Prime Minister’s office, State Law Office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Public Service, Judicial Service Commission and Law Society of Kenya.
PSC has already written to President Kibaki informing him that the process of vetting of magistrates and judges cannot proceed because of the obstacles facing the establishment of the board.
PSC cites the short window that was given for interested persons to hand in applications — between March 30 and April 21st — as another reason for the low number of applicants.
"In the circumstances, the selection committee wishes to inform the Kenyan people that the requirements of both the Constitution and the Act having not been satisfied, the selection committee made the decision not to proceed with the process of the considering the applications, interviewing and selecting candidates for the offices of the chairperson and the members of the board," said Gatere in advertisement in The Standard on Sunday.
Mutula confirmed that Government faced a crisis and added that President Kibaki has already instructed him to deal with the problem expeditiously.
Requisite amendment"I can confirm to you I have already drafted the requisite amendment to the Act and I will be tabling in the House on Tuesday for Parliament to deal with in order to expedite this process which ought to have been undertaken a long time ago," he revealed.
Gender and Women Affairs Minister Dr Naomi Shaban told The Standard she was disappointed that women had failed to apply for the jobs and blamed the manner in which the jobs were advertised.
Mutula also argued there was need for measures to be put in place to cut the bureaucracy on how Bills meant to operationalise the Constitution are brought to the House for enactment.
He recommends that once a ministry prepares a Bill, there should be only one meeting to be attended by the relevant ministries and AG, Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC), which is chaired by Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohammed, Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs chaired by Budalang’i MP, Parliament Clerk’s office, Office of the President and PM’s office.
Mutula also proposes if the Bills are many then the House should go on a one-day retreat and scrutinise them before returning to the House and passing them. "This is how we managed to pass the National Accord and Reconciliation Act," he added.
Last week, CIOC called a crisis meeting where it was agreed that bureaucracy was delaying the process and intervention measures suggested.