The scramble for top jobs

The impending exit of key public officials in the military, Central Bank and Judiciary is set to renew the vicious jockeying for positions expected to change the face of public service.

At the centre of the quiet but determined efforts are senior political party officials, special interest groups and non-governmental organisations.

The events of the past three weeks which saw a section of MPs allied to President Kibaki ranged against Prime Minister Raila Odinga, National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende, Attorney-General Amos Wako and the chairman of the justice and legal affairs committee Ababu Namwamba illustrates the high political premium being placed on some of the appointments.

Most of the positions spring from the reformist Constitution adopted last August and will have the effect of changing the face of public service in the country.

The new Constitution gives the Executive and Parliament until the end of this year to appoint the heads and members of crucial commissions and other independent offices in a manner not seen before.

The high-profile positions include those of Central Bank Governor and Chief Justice, whose terms expire within the next six days.

Among the other senior officials expected to leave their jobs in coming months are Chief of General Staff Gen Jeremiah Kianga, the Vice-Chief of General Staff Lt-Gen Julius Karangi in August and the two seniormost police officers – Police Commissioner Matthew Iteere and AP Commandant Kinuthia Mbugua.

Others are Mr Ahmed Issack Hassan at Interim Independent Electoral Commission, KRA Commissioner General Michael Waweru, PSC chairman Titus Gateere and the Controller and Auditor-General, Mr Anthony Gatumbu, whose office is being split to form the offices of Auditor General and Controller of Budget.

Also on the way out is Attorney- General Amos Wako.

In addition, the reappointment of Maj-Gen Michael Gichangi as National Security Intelligence Service Director-General is being contested in court.

Among the new positions up for grabs are those of Deputy Chief Justice, Controller of Budget, Director of Public Prosecutions and Chairman of Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission.

According to Mr Peter Aling’o, the Executive Director of the Institute of Education in Democracy, all appointments to constitutional commissions and independent offices should be open to public scrutiny, must be accountable and transparent.

“We are approaching this process with vested regional, ethnic and political interests thus undermining the independence, integrity, credibility and professionalism of the office holders. The dominant political and ethnic interests still influence the choice of candidates even where the offices appear independent and in the process we sacrifice the values set out in Chapter 6 of the new Constitution,” he said.  

According to the new Constitution, appointments to the jobs shall take into account “the national values described as patriotism, national unity, sharing and devolution of power, the rule of law, democracy and participation of the people, human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, non-discrimination and protection of the marginalized, good governance, integrity, transparency and accountability and sustainable development.”

The Constitution also states that the appointments must reflect the “regional and ethnic diversity of the people of Kenya’ and that the chairperson and vice-chairperson of any of the bodies shall not be of the same gender.

To the unsuspecting eye, the posts are just that, mere jobs. But to the political class, the jobs are a matter of life and death for the holders of those positions will influence, determine and hold sway over the current and future political leadership.

The chair and members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries, for instance, will determine the boundaries and name of new constituencies, the amount of money a party or a candidate can spend in campaigns and the manner in which parties will conduct their nominations for their presidential and parliamentary candidates.   

The Chief Justice on the other hand will chair the Judicial Service Commission, which will vet judges and magistrates. He or she will also swear in the next President and Deputy President and will appoint the tribunal to investigate the President’s capability to hold office, in need be.

The DPP will have the powers to direct the Inspector-General of Police to investigate and shall not require the consent of any person or authority to open criminal proceedings.

According to the new Constitution, the Controller of Budget shall oversee the implementation of the budgets of the national and county governments by authorising withdrawals from public funds and “shall not approve any withdrawal from a public fund unless satisfied that the withdrawal is authorised by law.”

Politicians continue to trade barbs over the plumbs jobs.

Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto insists that Mr Odinga is opposed to the PSC picking the DPP and Controller of Budget because he would like the posts to be filled by a person he can manipulate.

“Why did he not complain when the same PSC picked members of the Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution and the Revenue Allocation Commission?”

But Lands Minister James Orengo disagrees: “It was not PSC, it was a team of experts drawn from the office of the President, the office of the Prime Minister and where there was need, other experts were brought on board to help in the exercise. Miguna and Sam Mwale were on the panel yet they are not PSC commissioners,” he argues.

According to Mr Odinga’s top advisor, Mr Salim Lone, the PM’s position remains that there should be no horse trading between ODM and PNU when it comes to filling the positions.

“The PM’s position is very clear, that we are filling crucial constitutional offices and not picking people based on their affiliation to ODM or PNU. So let ODM not pick so and so and PNU picks so and so. The PM also believes we should not fill these positions piecemeal because then we will not address the question of gender or regional balance set out in the Constitution.”     

Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo has repeatedly argued that the positions should not be filled on political or ethnic alliances.

“If the intention was to show the African Union and other countries that we are renewing our institutions, then we just shot ourselves in the foot. You cannot afford to have a prosecutor, Attorney-General and a Chief Justice perceived to enjoy the support of one political party,” Mr Kilonzo said of the controversial nominations to fill the positions of Chief Justice, Attorney General, Director of Public Prosecutions and Controller of Budget.

While describing the nominations as “unconstitutional”, Mr Kilonzo said the Constitution provided that a third of the nominations be filled by women, which was not the case.