Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Split House to vet judicial nominees

Share Bookmark Print Email Rating
The Judicial Service Commission has nominated lawyers Willy Mutunga and Nancy Baraza for the positions of Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice respectively May 13, 2011. FILE
The Judicial Service Commission has nominated lawyers Willy Mutunga and Nancy Baraza for the positions of Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice respectively May 13, 2011. FILE
By OLIVER MATHENGE omathenge@ke.nationmedia.com AND ZADDOCK ANGIRA zangira@ke.nationmedia.com

Posted  Tuesday, May 17 2011 at 22:00
In Summary
  • President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga endorsed the name during a meeting at Harambee House

Nominees for the positions of the Chief Justice and the deputy face the last hurdle to assume office — a divided House.
Related Stories
Focus turns to Parliament, which has the task of vetting the choice of Dr Willy Mutunga as the next CJ, Ms Nancy Baraza for deputy CJ post and Mr Keriako Tobiko as the Director of Public Prosecutions.
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have already endorsed nominees.
Some MPs, among them Eldoret North MP William Ruto and Medical Services assistant minister Kazungu Kambi, have vowed to reject Dr Mutunga’s nomination.
Opposition has also come from outside Parliament.
Nairobi lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui has moved to court to block the appointments. And some church leaders are opposed to the nominations.
Parliament’s role in approving the nominees is dictated by the Constitution and is a departure from the past where the Executive made the appointments single-handedly.
The two principals endorsed the nominees on Monday during a meeting at Harambee House.
The names will now head to Parliament and if approved will be sent back to the President for appointment.
“On recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission and after consultations with Prime Minister Raila Odinga, President Kibaki has today nominated for approval by the National Assembly: Dr Willy Mutunga for the post of Chief Justice and Nancy Baraza for the post of Deputy Chief Justice,” a statement from the Presidential Press Service said.
It added: “Following the recommendation of the interviewing panel, President Kibaki after consultations with the Prime Minister has nominated for approval by the National Assembly Keriako Tobiko for the post of Director of Public Prosecutions.” 
On Tuesday, MPs Kiema Kilonzo, Olago Aluoch, Wavinya Ndeti, John Pesa and Shakeel Shabir supported the nominees and urged their colleagues to approve the nominations.

No comments:

Post a Comment