Catholics want a fresh start for judicial jobs

Catholic bishops in Kenya want nominees for key judicial jobs set aside and a fresh process opened up for competent candidates to apply.

The Catholic wants the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Controller of Budget positions advertised and filled competitively.

Through the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC), the church said a credible local or international human resource institution and the Judicial Service Commission should be involved in the appointments.

Saying judicial authority is derived from the people, the church termed President Kibaki’s nomination of Mr Alnashir Visram as CJ, Prof Githu Muigai as AG, Mr Kioko Kilukumi (DPP) and William Kirwa as controller of budget as unconstitutional.

“The respect we have on the integrity of the named persons is one thing but however exemplary the individual is, law and order must be respected. Under the new constitution, all sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and shall be exercised only in accordance with the constitution,” Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth who is CJPC chairman said.

He added: “We are saying to the two principals; please follow the constitution and justice will set you free. In this season and time no single Kenyan is going to accept that a few individuals in the highest office of executive decide the destiny of 38 million people.”

National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende who is set to rule on the appointments Thursday, Archbishop Okoth said, “must also follow the constitution.”

Accompanied by executive secretary Jane Marine, Archbishop Okoth said the nominations of the four were not made in spirit of new constitution; they did not reflect the National Accord, the demand for consultations and fell short of requirement that the President be a symbol of national unity.

Emphasizing that the law should be followed to the letter, the church regretted that MPs had fallen into political camps due to naming of the Ocampo six and that “even if there will be voting in Parliament, this does not mean that honesty had prevailed.”

“It is only the set Judicial Service Commission that will save the face of the nation. What we are saying is that let the process be transparent and candidates interviewed and vetted. We must avoid ethnicity. Even if a Turkana applies for Chief Justice post and passes, why not?,” Archbishop Okoth said.

The church said the constitution should be implemented in a way that promotes life and that its the responsibility of all Kenyans “to be the watchful conscience of society and the first to bear witness to civil, social conditions that are worthy of all Kenyans.”

The church said advertising the jobs and recruitment by reputable firms and vetting by JSC would give the executive and Parliament an easy time in the appointments.

The church opposed a decision by MPs for Kenya to pull out the Rome Statute and efforts to defer Kenya’s post election violence cases that are before the International Criminal Court. The gestures, they said, portray politicians’ intention to delay justice, perpetuate the culture of impunity and cronyism.

“We caution the government to trade carefully on the ICC prosecution process to ensure that true justice is accorded especially to the victims of the 2007/2008 post election violence,” Archbishop Okoth said.

He said the current political environment is not conducive for crisis-hit Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission to complete its work. Many Kenyans were also locked out of the TJRC statement taking process, which ended on Monday and together with recruitment of ineffective statement takers would affect the quality of hearing and final report.

The church called for resettlement of all Internally Displaced Persons.

It said the ongoing political realignments and fallouts ahead of 2012 elections stirs ethnic tensions and that it is divisive, selfish and undermines reconciliation, national healing and cohesion.

“The political community must understand that it finds its authentic dimension in its reference to the Kenyan people. It is and should in practice be the unifying organ of Kenyans and not the agents of hatred and violence,” Archbishop Okoth said.

The church also condemned the recent daylight killings of suspected thugs by police on Langata road and shooting of a number of police officers by criminals and called for respect of law and order.