Deadline missed to pick anti-graft czar

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President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have fallen behind schedule in appointing the man or woman to replace Prof Patrick Lumumba as the head of the anti-corruption agency at the Integrity Centre. Photo/ANTHONY OMUYA 

By OLIVER MATHENGE omathenge@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, November 26  2011 at  22:30

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have missed the deadline for selecting the man or woman to lead Kenya’s fight against corruption.

Sunday marks 17 days since the two principals received the names of three nominees from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission selection panel.

The panel forwarded the names of the current chairman of the anti-graft agency’s advisory board, Mr Okong’o Omogeni, Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner Mumo Matemu and economist Sarah Kilemi.

President Kibaki, in consultation with Mr Odinga, was to choose one of the three to chair the ethics team and forward the name to Parliament for approval by Thursday.

The law establishing the commission gives the two coalition principals 14 days to arrive at a decision and forward the names to Parliament for further vetting and approval.

The panel chaired by Rose Mambo also forwarded the names of Prof Jane Onsongo, Polycarp Ochillo, Francis Shaw and Irene Keino in order of merit to be considered for the two positions of members.

It is understood that political intrigues, issues of regional balance and uncertainty over how far the commission will push its mandate are the cause of the delay.

As has occured with previous appointments, ODM and PNU are haggling over the nominees in an attempt to put in place a commission that is likely to protect their interests.

It is also understood that members of President Kibaki’s side of government are also wary of how far the new commission will go to deal with the corruption that has hit his government since 2003 when he retires next year.The political players are also looking at other appointments that have been made after the promulgation of the Constitution and how each of the coalition partners has benefitted.

Already, Director of Public Prosecution Keriako Tobiko has referred a case involving the loss of free primary education money at the Ministry of Education to the commission for further investigations.

The investigation puts Internal Security minister Prof George Saitoti and his Education counterpart Prof Sam Ongeri on the spot. Both men are allies of the President.

On regional balance, Mr Omogeni and Prof Onsongo, who were top in the interviews for their respective positions, are from the same tribe.

Mr Matemu comes from Eastern, the same as Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo.

There are those who feel that the justice system should not be dominated by persons from the same tribe.

Dr Kilemi comes from the Mt Kenya region which the Kibaki government has been accused of favouring since 2003.

Mr Kilonzo said that the delay puts the country in a bad place because of the urgency of to set up the commission and respect for the law.

He said the two principals can legally gazette an extension while the other alternative was for Parliament to amend the law to extend time.

But he said this would be “tiresome and unnecessary wastage”.

The new commission will take over from the defunct Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission which was wound up following the enactment of the EACC Act in line with the Constitution.