National security deal struck at review talks

• Intelligence, army, AP and police take centre stage as negotiations enter home stretch

Members of Parliament negotiating a new constitution Tuesday agreed to keep national security as a function of the central government, unofficial sources said.

They also decided to keep the regular and Administration Police as separate forces, but reporting to one boss, the Inspector General.

Under that arrangement, each of the two arms will be headed by a commandant.

The 26-member Parliamentary Select Committee on the constitution is debating and seeking consensus on the draft constitution ahead of a referendum to be held later in the year.

The team is expected to reach an agreement to prevent a fall-out similar to the one experienced ahead of the 2005 referendum when political leaders were divided over whether to support or reject the Wako Draft.

The divisions led to the polarisation of the citizens along party and ethnic lines.

On Tuesday, the committee tackled, among others, the chapter on national security and was expected to conclude debate on the Executive, devolution, representation and public finance by the end of day.

In accordance with parliamentary rules, MPs are not allowed to reveal what was discussed and no media briefings were provided.

Currently, the police force is headed by the Commissioner of Police while the AP is headed by a Commandant reporting directly to the Provincial Administration and Internal Security permanent secretary.

“We unanimously agreed to recognise the AP as a separate force at par with the Kenya police service,” an MP at the meeting said.

Under the proposed constitution, the commandants of the two forces will fall under the Inspector-General but will function independently administratively.

A proposal to form a civilian Internal Security Board to coordinate the two forces was mooted but not conclusively discussed.

In the draft constitution prepared by the Committee of Experts, headed by former LSK chairman Nzamba Kitonga, national security organs are recognised as the Kenya Defence Forces, the National Security Intelligence Service and the Kenya Police Services.

The experts did not put the Administration Police in the draft, only indicating: “Parliament may establish such other police services as it may consider necessary.”

The move was interpreted to mean that the AP would be disbanded once the new constitution was enacted.

Kenya Forestry Service and Kenya Wildlife Service have also been left out in the draft. Both have armed wings to crack down on poachers and protect both wildlife and forests.

The PSC members were also proposing that the armed forces and the police be entrenched under different chapters in the new constitution.

The team, chaired by Mandera Central MP Mohamed Abdikadir, was reported to have discussed models through which co-existence between the regular and administration police units can be enhanced.

The draft proposes that the Inspector-General be appointed by the President acting on the recommendation of the Cabinet and with the approval of the National Assembly. The Inspector-General shall hold office for one term of eight years and shall not be eligible for reappointment.

He or she shall be in charge of internal security, according to the draft. It states that no person may give direction to the Inspector-General with respect to the investigation of any particular offence or offences, the enforcement of the law against any particular person and the employment, assignment, promotion, suspension or dismissal of any member of the Kenya Police Service.

On Tuesday, sources said a proposal to disband the AP and reconstitute it under devolution as a regional force was opposed.

MPs decided to retain only three commissions in the constitution: The Public Service Commission, the Parliamentary Service Commission and the Judicial Service Commission.

The three serve the different arms of government.

The commissions removed from the constitution include the Commission on Revenue Allocation, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Kenya Human Rights and Gender Commission and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

Others are the National Land Commission, the Police Service Commission, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, and the Health Services Commission. The proposal is to have the commissions established under Acts of Parliament.

Sources at the meeting said divisions emerged when it came to deciding the fate of the Teachers Service Commission in the draft constitution.

Whereas some members were of the view that recognising the TSC in the constitution was likely to turn the teachers’ employer into a rogue body, others expressed fears that teachers would not support the draft if it was not included.

Teachers have been pushing for the entrenchment of TSC in the constitution just like the Public Service Commission, Parliamentary Service Commission and the Judicial Service Commission.

Progress made

On Tuesday evening, the PSC remained tight-lipped on the progress made.

Mr Abdikadir said they had adopted more than 90 per cent of the proposals from the Committee of Experts.

“We are now re-looking into the issues of the executive, representation, legislature and devolution and we hope to hand over our report to the Committee of Experts on Friday afternoon,” he said.

There were reports yesterday that some members wanted to review the agreement that Cabinet ministers come from outside parliament.

But late in the evening, the team is said to have finally agreed on the presidential system and was putting in the finer details. However, the election threshold, sources privy to the discussion said, remained a 50 per cent plus one vote.

The president, it was said, will not be an MP and if he/she was at the time of election, will be required to resign as a member of the House.

The team is also said to have adopted the proposal to appoint the Cabinet from outside Parliament. MPs who will be appointed ministers will be required to quit their parliamentary seats.