THE LATEST KENYAN NEWS

magavana

Lawyers protest withdrawal of Cord leaders security detail

East Africa Law Society protests ‘mysterious’ withdrawal of legislators’ security detail
Updated Wednesday, July 31st 2013 at 13:01 GMT +3

Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama. He is among legislators whose body guardshave allegedly been withdrawn. (Photo:Evans Habil/Standard)

By Standard Digital Reporter

Nairobi, Kenya: Lawyers from East Africa have raised a red flag following alleged withdrawal of security detail of opposition leaders in Kenya.

East Africa Law Society (EALS) President James Aggrey Mwamu accused the Government of dragging the country back to its dark days following media reports of dispossession of some leaders’ body guards.

Mwamu said that media reports that other leaders in the Opposition whose security detail have been recalled include Senators Johnstone Muthama, Otieno Kajwang, Janet Ongera and Kisumu Deputy GovernorRuth Odinga.

He warned that the country may plunge into chaos should anything happen to the leaders’ whose security detail have been withdrawn mysteriously.

“The Government is ill-advised to recall or dispossess bodyguards of leaders after a hotly contested General Election,” Mwamu said.

The EALS President said that the Government of Kenya should not be paranoid when criticized.

“Constructive criticisms are not in bad faith…multi-party elections over 20 years ago opened democratic space in the country,” Mwamu said.

Mwamu who was speaking in Kenya called on the State to uphold the Constitution and rule of law.

“Kenya has come a long way…democratic space must be protected in the wake of the new Constitutional dispensation,” Mwamu said.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s driver is also reported to have been recalled.

“We are perturbed the driver of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has been recalled for alleged redeployment,” Mwamu said.

Philip Juma had been Odinga’s driver over the past 14 years.

A section of the media reported that Commissioner General of Prisons Isaiah Osugo confirmed that all officers attached to politicians had been recalled following a directive from the Office of the President.

“There was a circular issued from the security committee that prisons officers currently working as bodyguards to VIPs are recalled. The mandate of the Prisons Department is to provide security to prisoners and correctional facilities and that is why they have been recalled to serve in accordance to the mandate of the department,” Osugo was quoted in a mainstream media house Wednesday.

Quorum hitch delays Senate sitting

Quorum hitch delays Senate sitting for 20 minutes
Updated Wednesday, July 31st 2013 at 13:30 GMT +3

By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU

NAIROBI; KENYA: Senate Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura read a riot act to the party whips in the Upper House to make sure that there are enough lawmakers in the House to execute the agenda.

Mr Gitura said it was “unfortunate” for the whips to lead in skipping House sittings.

The Deputy Speaker spoke on Wednesday morning after a quorum hitch delayed the beginning of the sitting for 20 minutes, because, out of the 67 senators, only 11 were in the House.

The quorum for the Senate according to theConstitution and the Standing Orders of the Senate is 15 senators.

“I think that the whips have a role to play to ensure that we have quorum. Yet, the whips of both the Majority Party and the Minority Party are not here. They should be here to ensure there’s quorum,” said Mr Gitura.

The Deputy Speaker added: “It is the responsibility of the whips to see that we have a quorum in this House.”

Dr Boni Khalwale, the Kakamega Senator, also called on the Deputy Speaker to caution the Leader of Majority to ensure that he’s also in the House to make sure that the numbers from his party are enough to transact business.

But the Deputy Speaker said the role of the quorum was for the whips and they had to step up their game.

According to House rules, the role of the whips is to ensure that “Senators of their respective parties attend to House business particularly when there is contentious business to be transacted with a view to ensuring that each party’s policy stance/agenda is passed.”

Although there was nothing contentious in the House on Wednesday morning, the Majority Whip Beatrice Elachi and Minority Whip Johnstone Muthama plus their respective deputies Mike Sonko (Nairobi) and Janet Ong’era (nominated) were all absent.

The session of the Senate cannot begin without a minimum of 15 senators.

But once the sitting begins a senator must notify the Speaker or the person on the chair that the numbers are below the requisite quorum.

If such an alert is raised, the House has to stop the proceedings, ring a bell to get senators back to the House. If the quorum is reached, the proceedings continue. If the quorum is missed, the House adjourns.

Mutua to honour summons over Raila petition

Eric Mutua to honour Supreme Court summons over Raila Odinga's presidential petition
Updated Wednesday, July 31st 2013 at 12:49 GMT +3

LSK Chairman Eric Mutua at a past event. (Photo:File/Standard)

By Standard Digital Reporter

Nairobi, Kenya: The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Chairman Eric Mutua will honour Summons to appear before the Supreme Court on Thursday, August 1.

Mutua said that he will obey the Summons to appear before the highest Court in the country.

“I respect and hold the Judiciary in very high esteem…I shall appear before The Supreme Court as directed tomorrow from 8:30am,” Mutua said on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court issued the summons last Monday.

“You are hereby summoned to appear before the Supreme Court on August 1 at 9am,” said the letter signed by Lucy Njora, Deputy Registrar of The Supreme Court.

The Summon was dated July 22, 2013. The LSK Chairman received the Summons on July 24, 2013 through his private law firm.

However, the communication did not say why the LSK chairman was summoned or whether he will appear before a full bench of the Judges who handled the Presidential Petition filed by former Prime MinisterRaila Odinga who disputed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory.

Raila and civil society groups under the banner of African Centre for Open Governance (Africog) challenged President Kenyatta’s victory claiming the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) did not conduct a fair, transparent and credible election.

Subsequently, LSK appointed Senior Counsel Prof Tom Ojienda to lead the Legal Team representing Mutua in Court.

In April, The Supreme Court President Chief Justice Willy Mutunga had said that comments allegedly made by Mutua and published in a local daily that he had contravened a Court order warning against commenting on the then ongoing Presidential Petitions challenging the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as President.

Chief Justice Mutunga said the article attributed to Mutua touched on issues before the Court and ordered him to appear before the Supreme Court on a date to be notified to him.

Civil servants yet to receive July pay

Why civil servants have not yet received July pay
Updated Wednesday, July 31st 2013 at 12:58 GMT +3

By Standard Digital Reporter

NAIROBI, KENYA: Civil servants have not received their July pay but the Government has moved to reassure them that it was not broke.

Three Cabinet Secretaries confirmed that public servants had not been paid and stated that it had resources to pay them.

Cabinet Secretary for Devolution Anne Waiguru,Henry Rotich (National Treasury) and James Macharia (Health) issued a statement on Tuesday stating that the Government had resources to pay its employees.

“We wish to confirm that adequate resources forpayment of salaries and other programmes are available and moving forward will be rolled out on a timely basis,” a statement issued by the three Cabinet Secretaries stated.

The Cabinet Secretaries moved to reassure civil servants that plans were under way to fast-track theirJuly pay.

They said the delay was occasioned by restructuring of ministries after they were collapsed from 44 to 18.

They said the restructuring, done in conformity with the new constitution led to inevitable delays in processing of all financial management transactions including processing of salaries.

They stated that the National Treasury will immediately facilitate disbursement of funds to ministries to cater for the July payroll includingsalaries for civil servants who were to be paid by county governments.

They said the County Government will refund to the National Treasury the salaries paid to civil servants on their behalf.

The move is aimed at stemming disquiet among doctors who protested delay in their July pay andthreatened to go on strike next week.

Through the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union (KMPDU), the medics claimed they usually receive their salaries as early as July 22.