Mr Samuel Kivuitu, the former chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, presents the results of the 2007 presidential elections to PNU's candidate Mwai Kibaki in this file picture .
By JULIUS SIGEI jsigei@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Friday, April 27 2012 at 22:00
Posted Friday, April 27 2012 at 22:00
IN SUMMARY
- Proposed law lays the ground for a smooth and transparent swearing-in ceremony to be conducted in Nairobi between 10am and 2pm
Elaborate preparations for the handing over of power from President Kibaki are in top gear, complete with the first draft law of its kind to cover every foreseeable detail.
If all goes according to plan, Kenya’s next Head of State can look forward to an orderly transition in a public ceremony, a far cry from the chaotic spectacle in which President Kibaki took the reins of power from President Moi in 2002.
Not only will the team managing the transition be publicly known, it will also be expected to keep a record of all proceedings for publication in the Kenya Gazette, according to the draft Bill that will soon make its way to Parliament.
The Assumption of the Office of President Bill, 2012, which has been forwarded to Attorney-General Githu Muigai for scrutiny, proposes the formation of the Assumption of the Office of President Committee, to be headed by the Secretary to the Cabinet, to oversee a smooth transfer of power.
The members of the committee will be the Attorney-General; principal secretaries of Internal Security, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Information and Communication and Constitutional Affairs ministries.
Make process transparent
Other members of the ad hoc committee will be the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces; the Director-General of the National Intelligence Service; the Inspector-General of the National Police Service; the person in charge of the administration of the affairs of State House; the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary.
For the first time also the president-elect will have a say in his own assumption of office as he or she will nominate three people to the committee.
And in a deliberate move to make the process transparent and accountable, the committee is required to prepare a report within three months from the date of the swearing in.
The report shall contain the financial statements; a description of its activities and any other information relating to the functions of the committee.
Previously, there has been no script to follow with President Kibaki, for instance, being sworn in at dusk after the 2007 elections.
The Bill is expected to come into force upon the announcement of the date of the first elections under the Constitution.
The chairperson of the committee shall convene the first meeting at least 30 days before the date of the General Election.
The new arrangement also seeks to avoid the 2002 debacle in which President Moi handed over the reins of power in a chaotic ceremony which saw the outgoing President pelted with mud and some visiting heads of State failing to get seats.
“The swearing in of the president-elect shall be conducted in a public ceremony to be held in the capital city in accordance with Article 141 of the Constitution,” the draft Bill stipulates.
To keep at bay any fears of secrecy, the committee shall publish, by notice in the Gazette, the date and place for the conduct of the swearing-in ceremony.
“The oath or affirmation under subsection (1) shall be administered to the president-elect by the Chief Registrar before the Chief Justice or in the absence of the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice not earlier than 10am and not later than 2pm,” the Bill reads.
The president-elect shall, during the swearing in ceremony, take and subscribe the oath or affirmation of allegiance and the oath or affirmation for the execution of the functions of office in accordance with Article 141 of the Constitution.
Upon taking or subscribing to the oath or affirmation, the President shall sign a certificate of inauguration in the presence of the Chief Justice or, in the absence of the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice.
Instruments of power
After signing the certificate of inauguration, the outgoing President shall hand over to the new President instruments of power and authority — a sword and the Constitution.
This will, however, not apply where the incumbent is re-elected into office.
During the ceremony, the deputy president-elect shall also take and subscribe the oath or affirmation of allegiance and oath or affirmation for the execution of the functions of office in accordance with Article 148 of the Constitution.
This is a departure from the past when a Vice-President would be sworn in together with the rest of the Cabinet on a different day after being appointed by the President.
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