Jurists disown calls for Wako to resign

• Chairman denies joint statement with Law Society asking AG to quit

One of the parties purportedly pushing for Attorney General Amos Wako’s ouster has distanced itself from the proposal.

Chairman of the Kenya section of the International Commission of Jurists Wilfred Nderitu on Wednesday denied issuing a statement with the Law Society of Kenya calling for the AG and solicitor general’s resignation.

In a statement faxed to newsrooms yesterday, ICJ-Kenya denied being party to the purported joint stance.

“No meeting was convened by the council of ICJ-Kenya to discuss the matter, nor was there a joint meting between ICJ-Kenya council and the council of LSK to consult on, or discuss the issue and form a common position before the statement was published,” Mr Nderitu said in the fax message.

Unknown to him that his boss had disowned the contents of the purported joint statement, Mr George Kegoro, the executive director of ICJ-Kenya stressed that it represented his organisation’s stance.

“We were led by LSK to believe that it also represented their position. If somebody in the LSK feels it does not represent their views, then it is up them,” declared Mr Kegoro.

Mr Nderitu, however, said ICJ-Kenya had never called for Mr Wako’s resignation but said they would continue pressing for wide-ranging reforms in the AG’s office.

Not debated

He said the AG’s office needed to be divorced from that of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

On Tuesday, LSK council member Dr Ekuru Aukot also questioned the decision to push for the resignation of the AG. Dr Aukot said the council had not debated the statement fully.

Mr Wako’s visa to the US was recently withdrawn as the Obama administration takes a tough stance on Kenyan leaders it accuses of standing in the way of reforms or abetting corruption.

The AG has denied the accusations but pressure for him to step aside has been intensifying since then.