Mr Amos Wako leaves the stage after two decades of service as Kenya’s Attorney General. Photo/FILE
By EMMAN OMARI eommari@gmail.com
Posted Friday, August 26 2011 at 22:30
Posted Friday, August 26 2011 at 22:30
Who is this man Amos Shitswila Wako who was so indispensable to two extremely different regimes?
He presided over three key transitions — from single party rule to multi-partyism; from Daniel arap Moi to Mwai Kibaki; and from the First to the Second Republic under a new Constitution.
To many, he was the smiling Attorney General — the fifth since independence after the all-powerful Charles Mugane Njonjo, the shortlived James Karugu, the disastrous Joseph Kamau Kamere and the wind vane Justice Matthew Guy Muli.
When I met him in the course of my career as a journalist after his appointment on May 13, 1991, I saw three people fused in one.
I saw Wako the legal expert, Wako the person and Wako the politician.
It was the lawyer in him and international recognition that made former president Moi fish him out of private practice.
Discredited in the international community and grappling with foreign aid cuts, the Moi regime was desperately looking for someone to repair its image.
The Moi handlers quickly settled on Wako, an acclaimed human rights lawyer, to replace the indecisive Justice Muli.
One of the first things he did was to try and convince the Moi regime to repeal Section 2 (a) of the constitution which had made Kanu the only legal political party.
This is an aspect of Kenyan politics that is not in the public domain and which, he told me, created problems for him in his new job.
He met stiff resistance from what was then called the “Kanu Hawks” some of who later turned to opposition politics and became prophets of the second liberation.
At the time, he had the international and donor community’s support who pressured Moi behind the scenes to bring about change.
On the local scene, pressure for multi-partyism inadvertently helped Wako to bring about that change.
It was Moi himself who was to acknowledge at a Kanu delegates meeting in Kasarani, Nairobi the same year that hamujui, nafinywa (you don’t know, I am being pressed) to repeal Section 2(a). And this, after every politician at the meeting had opposed it.
Drafting the repeal was among the first laws Wako crafted.
To be fair, Wako was a brilliant AG, but with an uncanny penchant for mischief in drafting laws.
And this brings in the smiling personality — he has the ability to get along with any human, including enemies.
In Parliament, he would patiently listen to opposition MPs calling him all sorts of names. Then he would rise, and with a smile devoid of any signs of anger, reply with great humour.
MP George Moseti Anyona, who died in 2003, acknowledged this on the floor of the House: “The AG and I appreciate and cherish the spirit of having gone to Alliance High School where we were taught the art of debating.”
It is this side of him that was to become an asset for Wako the politician.
When every Kenyan thought Wako might not last under the Moi regime, he went on till the last day.
And when everyone thought Wako would be kicked out with the coming of the new Narc under President Kibaki, he is bowing out at its sunset.
The question is: How did he become so indispensable to both presidents?
When he was appointed by Moi, Wako quickly learnt that he was working for a person (Moi) who enjoyed power and issuing orders by the roadside.
Then he learnt that what the Moi regime preached during the day was not what it practised at night. He learnt that when orders were made, they were to be implemented in a manner that gave them a legal face.
He learnt that Moi had sacred cows in his herd and, because of this, avoided crossing their path or taking legal action even in glaring instances.
And he learnt that Moi liked leaders who contributed generously at his harambees and was thus ever present unless he was out of the country. If he was, he would send a donation.
He also learnt that certain crimes were so big that if pursued, they would rock the State.
And this was the circus that was to become the Goldenberg scandal, which has remained unresolved 21 years on.
The scandal is centred around an export compensation scheme by businessman Kamlesh Pattni in which billions of shillings were siphoned out of Treasury for fake exports of diamond and gold.
The Goldenberg scandal will be an albatross around Wako’s neck even after retirement.
When President Kibaki entered the stage, Wako had already studied him to the letter.
A hands-off man
First, he knew that Kibaki was not given to issuing orders. He knew that at the end of Kibaki’s speech, one had to make their own conclusions regarding the action to take.
He knew too well that Kibaki was a hands-off man to the extent he risked being labelled a fence-sitter.
It was clear to him that Kibaki would not tell one to do things in a specific manner but would let one do it their own way.
It is perhaps this, that may be the explanation why he failed to prosecute the people behind the Anglo-Leasing scandal.
His charm and ability to read the signs made him even a better politician than an AG.
For instance, when it was evident that Narc was going to carry the day in the 2002 elections, Wako the politician began acting tough on Kanu politicians and talked publicly about the handover to whoever won the elections, sending mixed signals.
Kanu read this to mean their candidate Uhuru Kenyatta while the opposition saw it to mean Kibaki.
It is this toughness and ambiguity that endeared him to the new regime.
Wako used his thorough knowledge about the new political players to survive in office, yet many never thought he would go this far.
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