MPs pick 11 members to vet judicial nominees

BY LABAN WANAMBISI

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null 1/1 NAIROBI, Kenya May 30 - The House Business Committee on Monday agreed to establish an eleven member ad hoc committee to vet nominees to the post of the Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice and Director of Public Prosecutions. The two hour meeting at Parliament buildings agreed that the two party whips come up with new names to the Committee to be presented to the House when it resumes on Tuesday afternoon. The move aims at ensuring the constitution implementation bills are not delayed due to political wrangles in the troubled justice and legal affairs committee. The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) chief whip Jakoyo Midiwo maintained that he will be presenting a fresh list but refused to divulge names of the new members. Mr Midiwo said: “My list is ready, and I am only waiting for the Party of National Unity counterpart to forward their list.” The meeting, which was chaired by Deputy Leader of Government Business Amos Kimunya, agreed that the committee be comprised of six members from ODM and five from PNU. The House Business Committee was scheduled to hold another meeting on Tuesday at mid-day before presenting the names to Parliament. The meeting on Monday came after the Orange Democratic Movement rejected an agreement at a Speaker’s Kamukunji on formation of a 15 member ad hoc committee composed of all members of Justice Committee and an additional five from PNU and ODM. It had also been resolved that the new committee be chaired by one of the ODM members, since PNU’s Mandera Central MP Mohammed Abdikadir already chairs the Commission for the Implementation of the new Constitution (CIOC). The ODM’s parliamentary group meeting on Friday under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi resolved to send the six new names to Monday’s meeting. The crisis in the committee has threatened to derail debate on the nominees for Chief Justice, Deputy CJ and Director of Public Prosecutions since members have not met since last week as expected to draft a report before Wednesday. When the names were tabled in Parliament a week ago, the committee was expected to scrutinise them and hand over their recommendations to MPs by May 25. Ideally, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Bill as well as the Salaries and Remuneration Commission Bill should have gone through the said committee but an impasse saw them taken up by the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee. The Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs chaired by Budalang'i MP Ababu Namwamba has been embroiled in wrangles since late April when eight members demanded fresh elections arguing that they had lost confidence in their chairman.

Read more: http://capitalfm.co.ke/news/Kenyanews/MPs-pick-11-members-to-vet-judicial-nominees-13007.html#ixzz1NsdE91Mu
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