Sunday, May 8, 2011

ODM PLOT TO OUST ABDIKADIR

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Share/Save/Bookmark THE ODM is plotting to oust Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohamed as chairman of the crucial Parliamentary Constitution Oversight Committee.
The decision to oust Abdkadir follows Thursday's attempts by PNU MPs to remove ODM's Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba from the Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.
The ODM pre-empted the no-confidence motion against Namwamba by withdrawing its members from the committee on Thursday. The ODM now targets Abdikadir so that it can have more say in the constitution implementation process. This poses yet another setback to the implementation of the constitution.
The ODM intends to go to court to compel the Registrar of Political Parties to revoke the membership of two of its MPs. The party intends to take control of the Abdikadir team which is charged with overseeing the implementation of the new constitution on behalf of Parliament. 
The Oversight Committee is supposed to be the link between Parliament and the implementation organs such as the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution and is supposed to resolve any deadlocks that may arise.
Abdikadir's Oversight Committee and Namwamba's Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs are crucial in the implementation process and especially now when Parliament is preparing to vet the nominees for the Chief Justice, Attorney General, Director of Budget and Director of Public Prosecutions.
The two-month-long wrangling in the Legal Affairs Committee has led to a situation where Parliament is debating three crucial bills without the committee's scrutiny and input.
Yesterday a member of the Abdikadir committee was drafting a vote-of-no-confidence memorandum which the ODM MPs intend to file with the Speaker’s office next week.
The ODM accuses the Mandera Central MP of being part of a partisan group bent on derailing the new constitution by pushing personal and partisan interests against national interests. The ODM has 14 members in the Abdikadir committee while PNU has 13 members.
Yesterday Gwasi MP John Mbadi said the ODM had taken the decision to demand the changes in the Oversight Committee leadership after it realised that the process had been taken over by a clique whose intention was to derail the implementation process. “We want to play a mainstream role in the implementation. We can easily remove Abdikadir because we have realised that he can no longer be trusted to oversee the committee,” Mbadi said.
Abdikadir was appointed chairman following negotiations between the ODM and the PNU. They decided that Abdikadir would chair the Oversight Committee while Namwamba would head the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee. Nominated MP Millie Odhiambo of ODM was unanimously elected Abdikadir's deputy.
Yesterday Abdikadir said he was not aware of the plot to oust him. “I have not heard of any such plans. I have not heard anything from the Speaker or the Clerk’s office regarding the intended action,” Abdikadir said.
Githunguri MP Njoroge Baiya accused the ODM of plotting to paralyse the constitution implementation by introducing unnecessary battles in Parliament. “Their plan to eject Abdikadir and their withdrawal from the Legal Affairs Committee is a clear manifestation of an orchestrated plot to block the implementation process,” he said.
Baiya, who chaired a meeting of the six members of the Legal Committee who on Thursday decided to eject Namwamba, said he was yet to present the resolution to the Speaker Kenneth Marende or the Clerk of the National Assembly as they were both out of town.
If the Baiya resolution is approved, the Parliamentary Liaison Committee chaired by the Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim will direct the House when to elect a new chairman.

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