All eyes on Kibaki and Raila as deadline nears

All eyes turn to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga as the one-week window given by House Speaker Kenneth Marende to resolve differences over the nomination of top Judicial, State Law Office and Budget office bosses begins to run out.

On Thursday last week Mr Marende declined to declare unconstitutional President Kibaki’s nominations for Chief Justice, Attorney General, Director of Public Prosecutions and Controller of Budget that have been contested by Mr Odinga. (Read: Speaker holds back, but judge rules list illegal)

Giving them a week

The Speaker turned over the matter to Parliament’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee and the Finance, Planning and Trade committee, giving them a week to consider President Kibaki’s nominations of Justice Alnashir Visram for Chief Justice, Prof Githu Muigai for Attorney-General, Mr Kioko Kilukumi for Director of Public Prosecutions and Mr William Kirwa for Controller of Budget.

The nominations seriously split the coalition government, but it is widely expected that the two principals will meet this week to sort out the issue.

In his ruling last week, the Speaker hoped that the matter would be sorted out before Thursday so that Parliament’s intervention is not required in what is essentially a power struggle within the government.

The two House departmental committees are set to meet from Monday to discuss the issue. Both have expressed the wish that President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga resolve the matter themselves.

Last week Mr Odinga also publicly stated that he was confident the matter could be resolved once he sat down with the President.

“A lot has been said about this issue but we will sit down and talk with the President and reach an amicable solution,” he told a media editors’ briefing.

An aide familiar with the PM’s diary told Nation on Sunday that the two principals were scheduled to meet but no date had been set.

Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba, who chairs the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, has stated that before vetting the nominees, his committee will first examine the process by which their names were forwarded and determine whether the law was followed.

This will mean making a ruling on whether President Kibaki flouted the law in presenting his list before reaching an accord with Mr Odinga.

However, the sittings of the House Committee also come against the backdrop of a High Court finding last Thursday that President Kibaki’s nominations were illegal.

Mr Justice Daniel Musinga also declared that it would thus be unconstitutional for any State organ to proceed with the process of vetting the candidates. (Read: Court says Kibaki nominees illegal)

But in his statement the same day, Speaker Marende cautioned that no other organ of State could block the Legislature from doing its duties.

Speaking to the Nation separately on Sunday, the vice-chairman of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, Mr Njoroge Baiya, and a member of the Finance, Planning and Trade committee, Mr Lucas Chepkitony, confirmed that their meetings would take place in accordance with the Speaker’s ruling.

Mr Baiya said the crux of the matter would be determining the “legality and constitutionality” of the nomination procedure. “We’ll look at all relevant matters including the decision of the court declaring the nominations unconstitutional,” Mr Baiya said.

He, however, urged President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to consult and break the impasse.

“It will be much better if the principals themselves met and resolved the matter. Once there’s a political agreement, it makes matters very easy. Consensus on this matter is very important if we have to move the implementation process forward.”

The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims also urged the President and the Prime Minister to display leadership, warning that hardline political positions could provoke “violence if not mitigated.”

“We are alarmed by political brinkmanship that is being played out in public,” SUPKEM secretary-general Adan Wachu told a press conference at Jamia Mosque in Nairobi on Sunday.

Mr Wachu, who was accompanied by Kisumu Town East MP Shakeel Shabir and Energy assistant minister Mohamed Maalim Muhamud, said the two coalition principals should respect the oaths of office they took to protect the Constitution and demonstrate the leadership Kenyans expect.

Separately, Local Government assistant minister Lewis Nguyai disowned PNU colleagues who threatened to pull out of the coalition government over impasse.

“I’m opposed to the sentiments by the Mr George Nyamweya and others that we can pull out of this government. That was not the outcome of the meeting we had as PNU,” said Mr Nguyai when he addressed residents of Wangige in his Kikuyu constituency during the launch of a campaign aimed as sensitising the community on the rights of a boy child on Sunday.

“We have a lot to do for Kenyans instead of playing divisive politics,” he said. John Cardinal Njue has called for unity among Kenyans despite their tribal differences.

Cardinal Njue said there was need to maintain peace in the country. Addressing congregation in Chaani Catholic church in Mombasa on Sunday, the cardinal said there was need to build and promote peace in the country.

Reports by Dan Otieno, Lucas Barasa, Gekara Mayaka, Anthony Kitimo and Alphonce Shiundu