Anti-graft job puts Lumumba in the spotlight

PLO Lumumba beat a crowded field of top lawyers, judges and technocrats to emerge the nominee for the Director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC). Dr Lumumba was picked from a list of eight after it had been whittled down from 197 applicants for the positions of director and two deputies.

Sources close to the interviewing team told the Sunday Nation that Dr Lumumba’s closest rival was a Kenyan working with the World Bank. The Sunday Nation also established that a former judge of the High Court who was recently fired as chief justice of Gibraltor, Mr Derek Schofield, was among the front-runners for the job.

According to board members privy to the selection of Dr Lumumba, the Nairobi lawyer had to be weighed against applicants who provided good credentials. “The applicants had fantastic qualifications and papers but we believe we settled for the best man,” a board member who cannot be named as he is not allowed to discuss board matters told the Sunday Nation.

Dr Lumumba and two deputies, Mr Pravin Bowry and Prof Jane Onsongo, now await parliamentary approval before their names are forwarded to President Kibaki for appointment. Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli praised the KACC board for settling on Dr Lumumba as the person to spearhead the war against corruption.

Mr Atwoli, however, wants the anti-corruption body given powers to prosecute those it has investigated. “My only reservation is that with prosecutorial powers still with the Attorney- General, he may not achieve much,” Mr Atwoli said.

Weak institution

Mr Mwalimu Mati of the anti-corruption lobby Mars Group Kenya, said KACC was a weak institution and anyone appointed its director faced a real challenge with prosecutorial powers resting with the Attorney-General. Mr Mati said Dr Lumumba needs to be single-minded to do his job as the director of KACC.

“There are many sacred cows in government who may not allow him to do his job,” the former director of Transparency International (Kenya) said. Ford-K chairman Musikari Kombo said he was delighted with the choice of Dr Lumumba. “He is a man of courage who is not easily manipulated,” Mr Kombo, who is attending a joint assembly of the African, Caribbean and European Union in Luanda, Angola, said.

Lawyer Haroun Ndubi said he will give Dr Lumumba the benefit of doubt on his ability to steer the anti-corruption war forward because he had not associated him with any fight against graft. “He has a history of making the constitution as a former secretary of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission”, Mr Ndubi said.

He, however, said that it was important for recruiting agencies to disclose the names of all other applicants so that Kenyans can judge for themselves whether the best person was picked. “For accountability purposes, we need to be told who the other candidates were,” Mr Ndubi said.

He, however, opposed Mr Bowry’s nomination saying Mr Bowry had been a lawyer for top government officials accused of corruption. Mr Ndubi noted that Mr Bowry may have been performing his legal duties but his nomination will put him in conflict with his work at KACC.

Another city lawyer who did not want to be quoted discussing his professional colleague doubted Dr Lumumba’s ability saying some of his past actions put a question mark on his forthrightness as an anti-graft crusader.

Past action

“The man is eloquent in speech but some of his past actions right from his days at the University of Nairobi point to someone who may not be relied upon to sacrifice his personal wellbeing for the bigger good. I’m sure many of my legal colleagues have something to say about this man,” the lawyer said.

Wajir North MP Aden Duale said he would oppose the selection of PLO Lumumba in Parliament saying he was a politician and leader of a political party. Mr Duale asked how Dr Lumumba could deal with politicians on issues of corruption when he (Dr Lumumba) himself is also an interested party.

Responses on the Nation website have also been divided on whether Dr Lumumba was up to the task in leading the war against corruption. While many readers think the team picked by the board will deliver, they want a new Attorney-General appointed to assist the new team deal with corruption. Other readers have traced Dr Lumumba’s role in student politics at the University of Nairobi and his alleged flirting with Kanu.