Marende to chair house business committee

Written By:Catherine Achienga ,    Posted: Mon, May 30, 2011

The meeting is expected to be stormy in view of the hardline positions taken by the coalition partners

The House Business Committee is set to hold a special session Monday afternoon to deliberate the formation and membership  of an Ad hoc committee which will  vet the nominees for the positions of Chief Justice his Deputy and Director of Public Prosecutions.

The meeting is expected to be stormy in view of the hardline positions taken by the coalition partners.

While PNU favors an expanded justice and legal affairs committee to serve as the Ad hoc committee, ODM insists the ad hoc committee must be reconstituted and is keen on locking out some of its members perceived to be rebels, who serve in the embattled Justice and Legal affairs committee.

The special meeting to be chaired by House Speaker Kenneth Marende comes in the wake of disagreements over the formula to appoint members to the Ad hoc committee tasked with vetting the chief justice, his deputy and director of public prosecutions ahead of debate in parliament.

PNU wants the ad hoc committee to comprise 15 members, 11 from the controversial justice and legal affairs committee and additional five with three from ODM and two from PNU, ODM keen on two of its rebel members including Isaac Ruto and Sophia Abdi Noor wants a fresh ad hoc committee reconstituted to include only 11 members.

Last Thursday in its bid to resolve the delay legislating bills critical to constitutional reforms parliament in an informal meeting agreed to form an 11 member ad hoc committee that will be tasked to vet nominees to the top judicial offices following wrangles in the justice and legal affairs committee.

However in a meeting held by the Prime Minister Raila Odinga his deputy Uhuru Kenyatta and justice minister Mutula Kilonzo the three agreed to retain the original members of the justice committee and increase the membership to 15 with ODM contribute 3 of the 4 new members and nominating the chairman.

A  proposal that was later rejected by ODM in a parliamentary group meeting held on Friday insisting on a 11 member committee excluding any person who served as a member of the defunct justice and legal affairs committee from the ODM list.

As things stand all eyes are on the House Business Committee to determine what next in the formation of the ad hoc committee to pave way for vetting and debate on the chief justice, an exercise held at ransom by the power struggles in the justice and legal affairs committee.

Members of parliament agreed to establish an ad-hoc last week in a bid to end wrangles in the Justice and legal affairs committee.