No golden handshake for judges who snub vetting
A push for judges not comfortable with vetting to side-step the process and go home with a handsome payoff has floundered.
The development came as MPs approved amendments to the Vetting of Judges and Magistrates Bill, 2011, opening the doors for key reforms in the judiciary. (Read: Cabinet approves vetting bill for Judges)
This is the first Bill under the new Constitution to sail through as Parliament steps up the implementation process.
Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo said the passage of the Bill as a “watershed moment” and urged the judges to undergo the scrutiny.
The minister was happy that the country would not have to “reward judges with a history of corruption for stepping down”.
Justice and Legal Affairs Committee vice chairman Njoroge Baiya (Githunguri, PNU) and committee member Millie Odhiambo (nominated, ODM) had sought a “golden handshake” for judges who did not want to be vetted.
Poor track record
“We want to advise those with a poor track record not to waste the vetting board’s time and elect to go home. Others have served well and need to be compensated. I think it is a deserved cost for the reforms that we want to undertake,” he said.
But Mr Kilonzo objected, saying a golden handshake was “offending to the chapter on public finance”.
“It opens a window of uncertainty. The aim of vetting is not to punish or reward, it is to make the judges Katiba-compliant,” he said.
Ms Odhiambo countered: “Not everyone to be vetted is a rotten egg. There are judges who will find it demeaning to be subjected to the process. The cost of renewal is less than the money lost through corruption in government.”
Assistant minister Sospeter Ojamoong’ said if judges were paid to leave, it would be “rewarding corruption”.
“The reason why they are being vetted is to see how good they are. There are people who have been supporting corruption and they have already been rewarded,” said Mr Ojamoong’.
When the matter was put to the verbal vote, the handful of MPs backing the amendment did reach the 19 required to force the physical voting.
