20110110
Nation

Nairobi — Top leaders of the coalition government met on Monday to speed up reforms in the Judiciary in line with the new Constitution.

The meeting between President Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka at Harambee House came on the eve of Tuesday's swearing-in of members of the Judicial Service Commission.

Top on the agenda of the meeting also attended by Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo was the appointments of the Chief Justice, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General.

The development came as lobbying for the CJ's post intensified with the Law Society of Kenya and Fida Kenya meeting on Tuesday to recommend candidates.

Mr Kilonzo declined to disclose details of the meeting he attended in the morning but said the government was moving quickly to appoint the officials in line with the timelines set under the new Constitution.

"Soon Kenyans are going to see the work we are doing," he said.

He said the Judicial Service Commission members would be sworn into office on Tuesday by Chief Justice Evan Gicheru. Mr Justice Gicheru is set to leave the office by the end of February while AG Amos Wako has up to August.

"They (JSC members) have a lot ahead of them. Their budget is ready and will work immediately, including receiving applications from those who want to become the next chief justice," he said.

The commission members are Mr Ahmednasir Abdullahi and Ms Florence Mwangangi (representing the Law Society of Kenya), Prof Christine Mango and Bishop Antony Muheria (public representatives) and Mr Titus Gateere (Public Service Commission). Others are Mr Justice Riaga Omollo (Court of Appeal), Mr Justice Isaac Lenaola (High Court) and Ms Emily Ominde (Magistrates courts).

They will advertise for the post of CJ, conduct interviews and shortlist three names that will be handed to the President and PM. Parliament will approve the final nominee before final appointment by the President.

Sources told the Nation that the two principals were already considering a few names.

Among them is a former high court judge who has also served as chief justice of Gibraltar. Another is a serving High Court judge.

But sources said the former high court judge could have an upper hand because he doesn't come from any of the tribes in Kenya and therefore appeals to both the principals.

According to sources, the President and PM are also said to be looking at the possibility of getting a candidate from outside the country in the event they fail to agree on one of the names they have.

The Nation has also learnt that Federation of Kenya Women lawyers is pushing for the position of deputy chief justice to be picked from within its members.

The rush to effect the changes is also being motivated by the President's and PM's desire to save their allies named by the International Criminal Court as key suspects in the post-election violence from being tried at The Hague.

The reforms are meant to convince the United Nations of Kenya's resolve to prosecute the Ocampo Six on her soil.

The naming of the new CJ and that of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Attorney General, sources said, would be used as proof of a fresh determination to bring justice to those who bear the most responsibility for the chaos in which 1,133 people were killed and over 650,000 displaced from their homes.

While the Judicial Service Commission will move with speed ensure the new CJ is appointed, the position of the DPP, the deputy CJ and that of the Controller of the Budget are to be advertised any time from Tuesday.

Coming hot on these appointments will be the revamping of the investigative arm of the government -- the Criminal Investigations Department -- to give it the skills and the equipment it need to achieve high standard of evidence.

Monday's meeting came barely five days after President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga held their first working session this year during which they focused on the expected appointments and the fate of the Ocampo Six.

Sources close to the Harambee House meeting said Mr Moreno-Ocampo had pointed out the lack of credible leadership and judges in the Judiciary, an independent DPP and a weak CID as the reasons which made Kenya unable to prosecute the key suspects of post-election chaos.

Lobbying for the position of CJ and AG has heightened with Lands minister James Orengo warning that horse-trading between PNU and ODM will not be allowed.

"We are aware that some individuals have started campaigning for the positions by aligning themselves to certain political parties but they are going to fail because very soon we will raise the red flag," he said in Mombasa.

The Harambee House meeting is said to have agreed that the JSC should focus on the CJ position followed by the vetting of judges. It was of the view that once 60 per cent of the judges have been vetted and a DPP appointed, they will have addressed some of the flaws in the Judiciary.

The government has pledged to establish a local tribunal, with the help of the UN, to try the Ocampo Six suspects: Deputy PM Uhuru Kenyatta, MPs William Ruto and Henry Kosgey, Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura, Postmaster General Hussein Ali and journalist Joshua arap Sang.

Additional reporting by Mazera NduryaThe meeting between President Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka at Harambee House came on the eve of Tuesday's swearing-in of members of the Judicial Service Commission.

Top on the agenda of the meeting also attended by Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo was the appointments of the Chief Justice, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General.

The development came as lobbying for the CJ's post intensified with the Law Society of Kenya and Fida Kenya meeting on Tuesday to recommend candidates.

Mr Kilonzo declined to disclose details of the meeting he attended in the morning but said the government was moving quickly to appoint the officials in line with the timelines set under the new Constitution.

"Soon Kenyans are going to see the work we are doing," he said.

He said the Judicial Service Commission members would be sworn into office on Tuesday by Chief Justice Evan Gicheru. Mr Justice Gicheru is set to leave the office by the end of February while AG Amos Wako has up to August.

"They (JSC members) have a lot ahead of them. Their budget is ready and will work immediately, including receiving applications from those who want to become the next chief justice," he said.

The commission members are Mr Ahmednasir Abdullahi and Ms Florence Mwangangi (representing the Law Society of Kenya), Prof Christine Mango and Bishop Antony Muheria (public representatives) and Mr Titus Gateere (Public Service Commission). Others are Mr Justice Riaga Omollo (Court of Appeal), Mr Justice Isaac Lenaola (High Court) and Ms Emily Ominde (Magistrates courts).

They will advertise for the post of CJ, conduct interviews and shortlist three names that will be handed to the President and PM. Parliament will approve the final nominee before final appointment by the President.

Sources told the Nation that the two principals were already considering a few names.

Among them is a former high court judge who has also served as chief justice of Gibraltar. Another is a serving High Court judge.

But sources said the former high court judge could have an upper hand because he doesn't come from any of the tribes in Kenya and therefore appeals to both the principals.

According to sources, the President and PM are also said to be looking at the possibility of getting a candidate from outside the country in the event they fail to agree on one of the names they have.

The Nation has also learnt that Federation of Kenya Women lawyers is pushing for the position of deputy chief justice to be picked from within its members.

The rush to effect the changes is also being motivated by the President's and PM's desire to save their allies named by the International Criminal Court as key suspects in the post-election violence from being tried at The Hague.

The reforms are meant to convince the United Nations of Kenya's resolve to prosecute the Ocampo Six on her soil.

The naming of the new CJ and that of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Attorney General, sources said, would be used as proof of a fresh determination to bring justice to those who bear the most responsibility for the chaos in which 1,133 people were killed and over 650,000 displaced from their homes.

While the Judicial Service Commission will move with speed ensure the new CJ is appointed, the position of the DPP, the deputy CJ and that of the Controller of the Budget are to be advertised any time from Tuesday.

Coming hot on these appointments will be the revamping of the investigative arm of the government -- the Criminal Investigations Department -- to give it the skills and the equipment it need to achieve high standard of evidence.

Monday's meeting came barely five days after President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga held their first working session this year during which they focused on the expected appointments and the fate of the Ocampo Six.

Sources close to the Harambee House meeting said Mr Moreno-Ocampo had pointed out the lack of credible leadership and judges in the Judiciary, an independent DPP and a weak CID as the reasons which made Kenya unable to prosecute the key suspects of post-election chaos.

Lobbying for the position of CJ and AG has heightened with Lands minister James Orengo warning that horse-trading between PNU and ODM will not be allowed.

"We are aware that some individuals have started campaigning for the positions by aligning themselves to certain political parties but they are going to fail because very soon we will raise the red flag," he said in Mombasa.

The Harambee House meeting is said to have agreed that the JSC should focus on the CJ position followed by the vetting of judges. It was of the view that once 60 per cent of the judges have been vetted and a DPP appointed, they will have addressed some of the flaws in the Judiciary.

The government has pledged to establish a local tribunal, with the help of the UN, to try the Ocampo Six suspects: Deputy PM Uhuru Kenyatta, MPs William Ruto and Henry Kosgey, Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura, Postmaster General Hussein Ali and journalist Joshua arap Sang.

The meeting between President Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka at Harambee House came on the eve of Tuesday's swearing-in of members of the Judicial Service Commission.

Top on the agenda of the meeting also attended by Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo was the appointments of the Chief Justice, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General.

The development came as lobbying for the CJ's post intensified with the Law Society of Kenya and Fida Kenya meeting on Tuesday to recommend candidates.

Mr Kilonzo declined to disclose details of the meeting he attended in the morning but said the government was moving quickly to appoint the officials in line with the timelines set under the new Constitution.

"Soon Kenyans are going to see the work we are doing," he said.

He said the Judicial Service Commission members would be sworn into office on Tuesday by Chief Justice Evan Gicheru. Mr Justice Gicheru is set to leave the office by the end of February while AG Amos Wako has up to August.

"They (JSC members) have a lot ahead of them. Their budget is ready and will work immediately, including receiving applications from those who want to become the next chief justice," he said.

The commission members are Mr Ahmednasir Abdullahi and Ms Florence Mwangangi (representing the Law Society of Kenya), Prof Christine Mango and Bishop Antony Muheria (public representatives) and Mr Titus Gateere (Public Service Commission). Others are Mr Justice Riaga Omollo (Court of Appeal), Mr Justice Isaac Lenaola (High Court) and Ms Emily Ominde (Magistrates courts).

They will advertise for the post of CJ, conduct interviews and shortlist three names that will be handed to the President and PM. Parliament will approve the final nominee before final appointment by the President.

Sources told the Nation that the two principals were already considering a few names.

Among them is a former high court judge who has also served as chief justice of Gibraltar. Another is a serving High Court judge.

But sources said the former high court judge could have an upper hand because he doesn't come from any of the tribes in Kenya and therefore appeals to both the principals.

According to sources, the President and PM are also said to be looking at the possibility of getting a candidate from outside the country in the event they fail to agree on one of the names they have.

The Nation has also learnt that Federation of Kenya Women lawyers is pushing for the position of deputy chief justice to be picked from within its members.

The rush to effect the changes is also being motivated by the President's and PM's desire to save their allies named by the International Criminal Court as key suspects in the post-election violence from being tried at The Hague.

The reforms are meant to convince the United Nations of Kenya's resolve to prosecute the Ocampo Six on her soil.

The naming of the new CJ and that of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Attorney General, sources said, would be used as proof of a fresh determination to bring justice to those who bear the most responsibility for the chaos in which 1,133 people were killed and over 650,000 displaced from their homes.

While the Judicial Service Commission will move with speed ensure the new CJ is appointed, the position of the DPP, the deputy CJ and that of the Controller of the Budget are to be advertised any time from Tuesday.

Coming hot on these appointments will be the revamping of the investigative arm of the government -- the Criminal Investigations Department -- to give it the skills and the equipment it need to achieve high standard of evidence.

Monday's meeting came barely five days after President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga held their first working session this year during which they focused on the expected appointments and the fate of the Ocampo Six.

Sources close to the Harambee House meeting said Mr Moreno-Ocampo had pointed out the lack of credible leadership and judges in the Judiciary, an independent DPP and a weak CID as the reasons which made Kenya unable to prosecute the key suspects of post-election chaos.

Lobbying for the position of CJ and AG has heightened with Lands minister James Orengo warning that horse-trading between PNU and ODM will not be allowed.

"We are aware that some individuals have started campaigning for the positions by aligning themselves to certain political parties but they are going to fail because very soon we will raise the red flag," he said in Mombasa.

The Harambee House meeting is said to have agreed that the JSC should focus on the CJ position followed by the vetting of judges. It was of the view that once 60 per cent of the judges have been vetted and a DPP appointed, they will have addressed some of the flaws in the Judiciary.

The government has pledged to establish a local tribunal, with the help of the UN, to try the Ocampo Six suspects: Deputy PM Uhuru Kenyatta, MPs William Ruto and Henry Kosgey, Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura, Postmaster General Hussein Ali and journalist Joshua arap Sang.