Catholics oppose CJ, deputy nominees

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Cardinal John Njue (right) flanked by Bishop Cornelius Koriri (left) of Eldoret during a press conference at Waumini House in Nairobi, May 24, 2011. The Catholic Church has opposed the nomination of Dr Willy Mutunga and Nancy Baraza as Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice respectively. STEPHEN MUDIARI

By AGGREY MUTAMBO, amutambo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Tuesday, May 24 2011 at 12:38

The Catholic Church has raised objections to the nomination of Willy Mutunga and Nancy Baraza as the next Chief Justice and deputy.

At a press conference by the Kenya Episcopal Conference in Nairobi Tuesday, four of its top leaders were hard pressed to justify their opposition over the nominees.

Cardinal John Njue led Bishop Cornelius Korir of Eldoret, Archbishop Peter Kairo (Nyeri) and Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth (Kisumu) in raising concern over the nominees and the process of selecting them.

But even as they cited article 166 of the Constitution, which demands that holders of such positions be people of high moral character, integrity and impartiality, the four could not say exactly what the weaknesses of the nominees were.

“The manner in which the process was undertaken left many questions to be answered,” said Cardinal Njue.

They criticised the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for taking over the role of the Executive.

“It is necessary that the nomination process should respect the power and integrity of the Executive as the appointing authority,” said Cardinal Njue.

“By presenting single individuals to the two principals, the JSC abrogated the power of the Executive.”

The Bishops stopped short of calling for a repeat of the nomination process.

“We are under the new Constitution and now that the process has moved on, we are calling on Parliament to pick the right candidates,” explained Bishop Korir.

The Church’s opposition to the nominees would not come out clear, even after persistent questions from journalists. For about 30 minutes, the four members of the clergy insisted on “values”, saying that both the church and African culture should have been upheld.

Earlier, the four had jointly read a five-page statement in which they said “we need people with a judicial philosophy that reflects natural law".

They argued that the holders of the two judicial positions should be people who respect life, recognise the importance of family wellbeing and “our appreciation of religion in public and private life".

However, when asked on whether the nominees lacked any of the above qualities, the Bishops said they were not pointing a finger at them, but just urging Parliament to use these criteria ahead of debate on whether to approve or reject them.

Upon nomination of Dr Mutunga and Ms Baraza,  a section of politicians and the National Council of Churches of Kenya raised concern over Dr Mutunga’s stud and Ms Baraza’s stand on the rights of homosexuals and abortion in a Doctorate thesis she is working on.

A week ago, Eldoret North MP William Ruto said the country needed “prayers” for nominating a CJ who dons a stud.

But on Tuesday, the Catholic Church could not agree on whether men wearing studs should be allowed. Cardinal Njue was mum, Archbishop Kairo said the stud was “un-African”, while Archbishop Okoth said the studs have been worn by many African communities since time immemorial. He therefore saw no problem in the stud but said it depended on what it signifies on a man.

The names of the two nominees as well as the proposed Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko are now before Parliament awaiting debate.