By BENJAMIN MUINDI, bmuindi@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, August 25 2011 at 14:42
Posted Thursday, August 25 2011 at 14:42
IN SUMMARY
Functions of the AG:
- Principal legal advisor to the government
- Represents the national government in court or any legal proceedings.
- Perform any other functions conferred on the office by an Act of Parliament or by the President.
Prof Githu Muigai has promised to pursue past cases and scandals that saw government lose money if confirmed as the next Kenya Attorney General.
He said fighting graft in the government, recovering lost monies and reviewing outdated laws will top his priorities in the four-year stint at State Law Office.
"So much money that could be feeding children or building hospitals has been lost in these cases by the government,” he said Thursday during a vetting session by the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC).
The further told the committee that “he won’t be a mouthpiece for politicians and will lead from the front as a legal advisor".
“There are many things my predecessor did that I would have done differently,” he told CIOC at County Hall when asked about his views on Mr Amos Wako’s two-decade tenure.
“It is important to give impartial and independent advice because the nature of politics is partisan,” he siad.
CIOC chairman Abdikadir Mohamed sought to know the relationship between the two, given that Mr Wako had earlier advised against Prof Muigai’s nomination.
“I did not take the issue personal or wrongly. We both recognise the law and Mr Wako has served the country during very hard times,” he told the members.
“It is however important to maintain a healthy distance between the public service and the politicians.
The two are set to work closely for a short transitional period.
During the vetting, Kasarani MP Elizabeth Ongoro asked what Prof Muigai would advise the government on amending the newly-enacted Constitution in cases as the provision on gender.
Prof Muigai said: “I would be hesitant to start amending the Constitution at this point. Let us give the Constitution sanctity otherwise we will start going back where we came from with the reform agenda.”
He pointed out to the members that provisions as the requirement that there should be no more than two thirds of either gender in Parliament can be achieved without amending the Constitution.
Prof Muigai was nominated on Wednesday by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, alongside Ms Agnes Odhiambo for Controller of Budget and Mr Edward Ouko for Auditor General positions.
The three nominees have since been vetted by various House committees and a report of each of them will be presented to Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende for debate by the entire House.
Prof Muigai told CIOC that his appointment was not politically-connected and that he was not related to the family of the first president Jomo Kenyatta, as Public Health minister Beth Mugo sought to know.
“I believe the two principals chose me on basis of my merit and suitability for the post and I am very grateful,” he said.
He is 51 years and has taught law at the University of Nairobi since 1996 and also served at the Constitution of Kenya Review Constitution.
Prof Muigai noted that the State Law Office was understaffed and requires more resources and that personnel working there needed to be specialised in certain fields.
He further pointed out that poor pay among police and others in the chain of prosecution led to collapse of cases because it was easy to compromise officers in the chain.
“There is a lot that needs to be done.”
On the review of laws, Prof Muigai cited Acts as those of Marriage and Companies, among others, as being outdated and needed to be brought in tandem with time.
“The AG’s office must set the tone to the commitment to the rule of the law.”
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment