Tobiko debate goes tribal

PHOTO/STEPHEN MUDIARI

Keriako Tobiko arrives for the vetting session by MPs at County Hall, Nairobi on June 7, 2011.

The debate over Keriako Tobiko’s nomination for the post of Director of Public Prosecutions has taken a tribal line with some members of his Maasai community coming out to fight off his critics.

At the same time, members of the civil society demanded that the process of approving Mr Tobiko be halted to allow for investigation into the allegations.

“These allegations are serious enough to halt the process (of approving him). His nomination was not in fact open,” said Jukwaa La Katiba in a statement. They accused the panel that interviewed the DPP applicants of conducting the process without involving the public.

The group called on parliament to expedite the investigation “to limit the damage that these allegations might have on the whole process of vetting.”

On Sunday, some members of Mr Tobiko’s Maasai community accused his opponents of targeting him to shield officials responsible for the shambolic prosecution of influential personalities.

The group threatened MPs opposed to Mr Tobiko that the Maasai will no longer support such parties.

“We will not accept some people to take advantage of certain circumstances to built accusations against someone who scored the highest grade in interviews,” they said.

Shoot down

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has already indicated that it would shoot down his endorsement report in Parliament when it comes for debate in parliament on Tuesday. The ODM Chief Whip Jakoyo Midiwo on Saturday said that the decision by the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) to approve Mr Tobiko was done in a hurry.

“The 11-1 vote was never a definitive endorsement of Tobiko. It’s not like the Committee has no options, there is no hurry.”

But under the banner of the Maasai Council of Elders, the group said that Mr Tobiko cannot be blamed for the loss of cases by the government especially since he did not have the powers to control the way prosecutions were done.

Ms Leah Naikanae of the League of Women Pastoralists said that the group was standing behind Mr Tobiko, not just because he was a fellow Maasai but because they are confident in his capacity to hold the office of DPP.

“We know this man unlike some people who do not and are using pedestrian accusations against him,” she said.

The elders’ coordinator Ololtisatti Nabulu ole Kamwaro accused the Attorney General Amos Wako of leaving Mr Tobiko to suffer for what were he said the AG’s mistakes. “The competencies of cases in the hands of courts do not always lie in the hands of the chief public prosecutor.”

Under the old constitution, the office of the Public Prosecutor was under the Attorney General. This meant that the AG could decide to terminate a case where he deemed fit without involving the DPP.

Some of the cases that have been cited in criticism of Mr Tobiko include that of Tom Chomondley who had been charged with killing a game ranger Samson ole Sisina on his farm. The AG would later enter a nolle prosequi to have him acquitted. Others include Goldenberg Scandal suspects and a case in which Eldoret North MP William Ruto was acquitted of corruption charges.

During Mr Tobiko’s appearance before the CIOC last week, up to four witnesses claimed he was not fit for the job. The former Constitutional Review Commission Chair Prof Yash Pal Ghai claimed that Mr Tobiko had been the hand and leg of certain political bigwigs and often frustrated the reform process.

A sitting judge also accused him of influencing his suspension from the job. However, a tribunal selected to investigate the matter later found Justice Moijo ole Keiwua innocent.