The names of Dr Willy Mutunga (left) and Nancy Barasa (centre) for Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice respectively and Keriako Tobiko (right) for Director of Public Prosecution were submitted to Parliament by President Kibaki. Photos/FILE
By JOHN NGIRACHU, jngirachu@ke.nationmedia.com and NJERI RUGENE, nrugene@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Tuesday, May 31 2011 at 17:12
Posted Tuesday, May 31 2011 at 17:12
Bickering between coalition rivals ODM and PNU has once again delayed the appointment of a new Chief Justice, the deputy and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Both parties emerged from a meeting of the House Business Committee at 12.30 p.m. Tuesday with a variety of reasons why the special committee to vet the nominees was not formed.
The list of members of the ad hoc committee would then have been taken to Parliament later in the afternoon for discussion and possible approval, paving the way for the team to start vetting Dr Willy Mutunga, Nancy Baraza and Keriako Tobiko.
But according to Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara, the wrangles between the two parties could be avoided by having the names of the nominees discussed by the whole House as a committee.
Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo appeared to agree with him that Article 166 of the Constitution only provides for “approval by the National Assembly” without reference to a committee.
Mr Imanyara said public participation would be realized by presentation of memoranda from the public to the House through the Speaker.
Mr Kilonzo will respond to Mr Imanyara’s statement on Thursday.
Speaking outside Parliament, Mr Imanyara said if MPs fail to agree on the names by the time of going to press last night, the House should be able to invoke the relevant provisions and discuss the nominees at the plenary.
It emerged that there are suspicions between the two parties over Dr Willy Mutunga, the nominee for the position of Chief Justice as well as over the numbers each will present.
Narc-Kenya chairperson Martha Karua is also understood to have demanded at the meeting of the HBC that her party be represented in the PNU list.
ODM Chief Whip Jakoyo Midiwo told the meeting of Parliament’s most influential committee the party was yet to agree on who among its loyalists would be in the team.
He was confident at a press conference at Parliament Buildings later in the afternoon that the membership of the committee would be known by the end of the HBC meeting later last night.
PNU deputy whip Jeremiah Kioni said at an earlier press conference the party was suspicious of the delay by ODM to name their members to the special committee.
“This (delay), to us, is an indication that there is more to it than we can see,” said Mr Kioni, who represented Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and PNU Chief Whip Johnstone Muthama at the meeting.
“Our colleagues are coming up with every reason in the universe to stall the process. We (usually) agree but then they go behind the door and come up with a reason to delay it further,” said Laikipia West MP Ndiritu Muriithi.
Mr Kioni said PNU would present its six members of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee to the ad hoc committee and allow ODM to select one of its five representatives as chairman.
But according to Mr Midiwo, ODM should have six members in the team due to its strength in the House, and therefore should have a majority as per the Standing Orders.
The 11 members would then be allowed to freely elect the committee’s chairman without any negotiations between their respective parties.
“We agreed yesterday that PNU was going to give us five members but we must ask ourselves why the obsession with those from the Legal Committee,” said Mr Midiwo.
“PNU has sworn, in these corridors that Willy Mutunga becomes the CJ over the dead body of some of them. Don’t chase a rabbit if you have started chasing an elephant. The eye must be on the elephant,” said Mr Midiwo.
An informal agreement between them resulted in Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba heading the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, with the attempt to remove him precipitating the current shenanigans.
“The issue of who takes chair and all that was an agreement between me and George Thuo (the former Juja MP and Chief Whip). Now that I am not properly coexisting with the other whips, I have no business bending over backwards,” said Mr Midiwo.
He alleged that PNU was keen on having the ODM rebels on the list, which the party has vowed will not be the case.
Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa said on Monday he has resigned from the wrangling committee but Mr Kioni said he had not formally written to the party to communicate his position and had not spoken of it to them.
Mr Kioni admitted that Ms Karua had complained that her party, which was previously affiliated to PNU, was not represented in the ad hoc committee.
The Ndaragwa MP was accompanied by Muturi Mwangi (Kiharu, PNU), Maison Leshoomo (Nominated, PNU), Ndiritu Muriithi (Laikipia West, PNU), George Nyamweya (Nominated, PNU) and Lewis Nguyai (Kikuyu, PNU).
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