Lumumba, team may not get terminal dues

Friday, 02 September 2011 00:03 BY MOSOKU GEOFFREY

REMOVED: KACC Director PLO Lumumba arrives for swearing in ceremony at the High Court.

THE defunct Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission Director PLO Lumumba and his four assistants may not be entitled to an exit package. It has emerged that MPs last year removed a provision in the transitional clauses that would have given PLO and his team compensation. Under the 6th Schedule of the Transitional Clause 22 of the harmonised draft from the Committee of Experts, PLO’s job had been secured as it provided, “The director shall continue in office for the unexpired term.” However, the MPs who met in Naivasha to generate a final draft removed the provision. And unlike other commissions such as the Kenya Human Rights and Equality Commission, the MPs ensured that PLO's is not secured.
Article 31 (1) of the 6th schedule of the Constitution provides that "any officer holding a public office under the old constitution will continue acting in that office for the unexpired term".
 However, 31(2) provides that, “The provisions of the Section 1 shall not affect, the powers conferred on any person under this constitution or legislation to abolish offices or remove from the office contemplated on subsection 2.”
This, according to highly placed sources at the KACC advisory board, is the law that closes any window for PLO and his team to get payment. PLO had a five-year contract that was to expire in 2015 but MPs ensured that the new law removed him from office.
PLO, John Mutonyi (investigations and asset recovery), Pravin Bowry (legal services and asset recovery),  Jane Onsongo (education) and Wilson Shollei (finance and administration) have already vacated their offices.
The board ordered the five to hand over offices to principal officers in transition following the Enactment of the Ethics and Anti-corruption Act which created the EACC to replace KACC.
Yesterday, Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo said the team deserved a severance pay but added the onus remained with the advisory board. “I really don’t know what their contracts provided but I wish they are paid. The decision will squarely lie with the board,” he said. The KACC advisory board will meet today to deliberate on whether the commissioners' contracts had been breached.
Advisory board chairman Okong’o Omogeni said a decision will be made at the meeting. “What the board will decide will be guided by the provisions of the constitution and other relevant laws,” Omogeni said.  “Any information that the fellows will be paid compensation should be treated as a rumour."