Is Wamalwa finally coming of age?

By Stephen Makabila

With the March 4 General Election under his docket and the beckoning ICC cases involving two of his closest political allies, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Eugene Wamalwa is a man under immense focus.

As pressure on his docket mounts, of concern is how he navigates around potential landmines in comparison to the fiery predecessors in the ministry.

On Tuesday, the minister came out strongly to claim there was a plot to sabotage the General Election by obstructing the timely procurement of Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits  and threatened to name those behind the alleged scheme.

Wamalwa whose ministry is in charge of the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission warned that the delay in the delivery of BVR kits was part of a wider conspiracy to push voter registration and force rescheduling of elections.

The minister yesterday told The Standard On Sunday  that concerns by  his ministry  over election sabotage have been addressed, but it was true delays were threatening to derail the process.

“We are back on track, but when things do not move as expected, I will not hesitate to speak. I have no apologies for having raised the red flag,” said Wamalwa.

Last Sunday, the minister was in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania with Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta to meet President Jakaya Kikwete over Uhuru’s presidential candidature that remains clouded by the ICC case.

And on Wednesday, he was present at the meeting of Uhuru and South Sudan Vice-President Riek Machar. The DPM is seeking regional leaders support for his candidature after former UN chief Kofi Annan and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton implied that a Uhuru or Ruto presidency would not augur well for Kenya in the eyes of the global community.

Tread carefully

Two weeks ago, Wamalwa told off Annan over his stand that Uhuru and Eldoret North MP William Ruto should not run for president over their ICC cases.

“There is nothing shameful about the two attending The Hague Court proceedings even if they won the presidency,” said Wamalwa, adding the accused have rights like other Kenyans, who are presumed innocent until proved guilt.

The stand taken by Wamalwa on the ICC is a contrast to that of his predecessor, Mutula Kilonzo, who had stated Uhuru and Ruto do not qualify to run for president.

In January before his transfer from the Justice Ministry, Mutula had termed as “impunity of the highest order” the declaration by the two presidential aspirants that they would be unmoved by the ICC confirmation of charges against them.

At the time, Mutula argued that if the ICC confirmed charges against the two then they shouldn’t be allowed to run for president, arguing that the Constitution bars them.

Just how much does Wamalwa’s style at the ministry differ from that of his predecessors Mutula and Gichugu MP Martha Karua? 

Wamalwa has chosen to tread carefully avoiding unnecessary confrontations while at the same time preferring to take a conciliatory position that seems to favour Uhuru and Ruto.

Delicate balance

Indeed, when he officially took over from Mutula in March, Wamalwa promised to employ a different approach compared to his predecessors and dismissed as baseless rhetoric that his appointment to the Justice Ministry was a ploy to scuttle the ICC process.

“I will not try to scuttle the ICC process and neither am I anyone’s puppet,” Wamalwa said.

Seven months down the line, focus is on Wamalwa as transitional General Election, billed to be one of the biggest in the country with six elective positions draws near amid ill preparedness by IEBC.

In his first public rally in Kericho after appointment, Wamalwa had pledged to strike a delicate balance between politics and his ministerial duties. While his supporters think he has struck that balance, his critics argue that by supporting Uhuru and Ruto, Wamalwa has immersed himself and his ministry right at the centre of politics and political intrigues.

“Wamalwa is a politician and its not easy for Kenyans to demand that he cuts links with his key political allies because of the ministerial docket. He has that docket because of politics,” said Dr Juma Mukhwana, his close political associate.

Mukhwana says that Wamalwa has so far steered the ministry well and his firm stand that no one should try to sabotage elections timetable was a testimony of his strong focus. “There is no minister in Kenya today who is not politicking and associating with whoever they believe is of greatest political value to him or her. What matters is performance. There is nothing wrong with showing solidarity with a political ally,” he added.

There are those who feel that the Minister has helped put police reforms on course, performed well in organising the national conference on peaceful elections and have been working overboard to realise the one third gender provision under the new Constitution.

“Being a coalition government, the minister has tried. At times his counsel is not taken into account, for example on the appointment of County Commissioners where his advice and the Attorney General were ignored by Government,” says Eldoret-based lawyer and Moi University law lecturer Titus Bittok.

Centre for Multi-Party Democracy chairman, lawyer Justin Muturi, says while Wamalwa needs some grounding in running of Government, the seven month period he has served are to short to judge him. “He has tried, but he needs some grounding in the way Government runs. I did not personally agree with his election sabotage claims,” said Muturi.

Further, there are claims the Leadership and Integrity Bill Mutula had developed was watered down under Wamalwa’s watch while most Bills on Constitutional implementations have been tabled in Parliament late, forcing the House to extend sitting hours to pass them.

It is apparent that the jury is still out in regard to performance appraisal of the Justice Minister.  The answer as to whether Wamalwa has performed well or not since his appointment to the critical docket depends on whom you ask.  His friends in the political world feel he has done well but his foes do not share the same sentiments.