CHAIR of parliamentary committee overseeing the reform process Abdikadir Mohamed has told the truth commission to disregard the purported return of Bethwell Kiplagat and finish its work. Abdikadir's strongly-worded advice to the Tecla Namachaje-led commission came as Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo supported Kiplagat saying he must justify his impressive earnings.
The Mandera Central MP who chairs the Constitution Implementation and Oversight Committee of parliament and is also a member of the Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs Committee said Parliament will pull all stops to block Kiplagat from “disrupting” the conclusion of the truth process. “It is unacceptable and inappropriate that a gentleman who cost the commission a lot of time by insisting that a tribunal should clear him went on and used the courts to derail the tribunal,” Abdikadir said. “That- in itself- is abusing the process. As parliament we extended the time of the commission to cater for the time lost due to his refusal to do what was most honorable in the circumstances. The last thing we now need is for the commission to be disrupted,” Abdikadir said.
Mutula, however, told the Star that as much as his ministry was not party to court cases on the matter and formation of a tribunal to investigate Kiplagat's conduct, it was his feeling that Kiplagat should go back to work as there does not seem to be any court proceedings about him.
He said from press reports of the case, it looked like Kiplagat was cleared by the court. He said he cannot answer for the judiciary about the time-lapse of a tribunal appointed to probe Kiplagat. “Ask them whether he is still on the payroll. And if he is, can he stay at home even after a court has cleared him? He needs to justify his earnings. If he does not report back to work, he will be violating the law and creating grounds for his own removal,” Mutula said.
Yesterday, acting commission chair Tecla Namachanja said Kiplagat could not just “walk into the office” without any communication from the ministry, the tribunal or any discussion about the matter being held between him and the commission. “The Commissioners and I note that the mandate of the tribunal set up by the former Chief Justice lapsed pending the determination of a court case brought by Ambassador Kiplagat challenging it.
While Ambassador Kiplagat has since withdrawn his court challenge to the tribunal, the issues that informed the setting up of the tribunal have not been resolved,” Wanjala said in a statement. She said Kiplagat has not resumed his duties as chair and that “he continues to await the outcome of the tribunal.”
Namachanja agreed with Abdikadir saying the commission was too far advanced in the execution of its mandate to have its work derailed by another round of sideshows surrounding the credibility of Kiplagat.
Kiplgat was forced to step aside in late 2010 following grave allegations of his involvement in past human rights violations, which are subject of the commission's investigation. He denied the allegations and appeared before the commission to absolve himself. The commission has so far received more than 30,000 statements, 600 memorandums and toured many parts of the country hearing witnesses and victims.
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