Tobiko not yet out of the woods

Powerful political forces continue to lobby for the appointment of Mr Keriako Tobiko to the post of Director of Public Prosecutions, even as a Chief Whip alleged “money had changed hands” and demanded the process be started afresh.

Allegations of Mr Tobiko’s lack of integrity have turned the spotlight on competence of the panel that had interviewed him.

The House is on Tuesday expected to debate the suitability of the candidate after an admission by Mr Abdikadir Mohammed, who chaired the committee which vetted him, that the process was “not properly conducted and was not transparent’’.

Joint Chief Whip Jakoyo Midiwo on Saturday declared he would rally MPs to block the appointment until concerns about Mr Tobiko’s integrity and flaws of the vetting process are addressed.

“Let the process start afresh and let Kenyans be patient. Chapter Six of the new Constitution stresses integrity of key officer holders. You cannot force a candidate with such grave allegations on the country,” he said.

The Sunday Nation has established that there were a series of meetings last Wednesday – one went late into the night – to consolidate support for Mr Tobiko.

They came after five witnesses were called to testify on Mr Tobiko, among them former permanent secretary Sammy Kirui, who accused the DPP of using proxies to demand a Sh5 million bribe.

Mr Tobiko denied the allegations. (READ: Tobiko fights off questions on his integrity)

The odds

The Wednesday morning session ended with the odds looking bad for Mr Tobiko.

Mr Kirui stood by his claims and Justice Moijo ole Keiwua’s lawyer, Mr Steve Mwenesi, had explained his client’s allegations against the DPP.

MPs from the pastoralist communities and others allied to Eldoret North MP William Ruto announced they would call a press conference on the matter. (READ: MPs see politics in claims against Tobiko)

But they appeared to change their minds and when the vetting resumed at 2.15 p.m. and former Deputy Public Prosecutor Philip Murgor came to speak they also took seats at County Hall.

Standing orders allow MPs to attend the meeting of a Parliamentary Committee and the MPs were not breaking any rules by attending the session.

Mr Ntimama is alleged to have confronted ODM deputy party leader Musalia Mudavadi after the Budget reading on Wednesday and threatened that the Maasai would join the Ruto faction if Prime Minister Raila Odinga did not rally the party to back Mr Tobiko.

He was also said to have been angered by the fact that ODM MPs John Mbadi and Millie Odhiambo were seen to be hard on Mr Tobiko during the vetting process.

The MPs are members of the Abdikadir-led Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC), which vetted the candidate and recommended his appointment.

Mr Mbadi had asked Mr Tobiko whether he met a member of the committee at Palacina Hotel after the Tuesday session while Ms Odhiambo had consistently put him on the spot.

Mr Ntimama’s agitation is likely to put Mr Odinga in an uncomfortable position given the trouble ODM has had in trying to keep the party together in the face of the pro-Ruto rebels.

Those who pushed for Mr Tobiko’s nomination include Maasai MPs led by Heritage minister William ole Ntimama and MPs allied to Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto.

Indications are that with the report expected to be tabled in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, following debate on its contents and recommendations, could form the next stage of a high-stakes political game.

The debate could be the culmination of the lobbying in the period prior to the CIOC’s announcement of their decision and the regional politics that saw two MPs from Mr Tobiko’s community come out to defend him against allegations by Justice ole Keiwua.

Mr Nkoidila ole Lankas (Narok South, ODM) and Mr Katoo ole Metito (Kajiado South, PNU) told the Abdikadir team that the differences between Justice Keiwua and Mr Tobiko are likely to have been the manifestation of infighting within the Maasai community over land in the Maasai Mara.

Mr Midiwo painted Mr Tobiko as a candidate for powerful people.

Eldoret North MP William Ruto last Friday backed Mr Tobiko and accused the committee of asking the candidate “useless” questions.

Last Thursday, his allies led by Livestock assistant minister Aden Duale addressed a press conference and claimed there was a scheme to discredit Mr Tobiko with the intention of locking him out of the job.

The MPs were Ms Leshoomo, David Koech (Mosop, ODM), Joshua Kutuny (Cherangany, ODM), Charles Keter (Belgut, ODM), Luka Kigen (Rongai, ODM) and Mr Letimalo.

They vowed to block the nomination of Dr Willy Mutunga for Chief Justice and Ms Nancy Baraza for Deputy, if the committee rejected Mr Tobiko’s appointment.

But Mr Midiwo said: “We will not support such a candidate until we are assured about the future of Anglo-Leasing cases and The Hague process.”

Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto have appeared before the International Criminal Court over allegations of crimes against humanity during the post-election violence.

Mr Midiwo alleged people were plotting to “blackmail” Parliament to appoint a “user-friendly” prosecutor.

“They failed to push through their candidates for Chief Justice in February. Now they want to sneak through a user-friendly prosecutor,” he told the Sunday Nation on Saturday.

Mr Midiwo said the House committee that vetted Mr Tobiko should have taken time to investigate the various claims against him before submitting his name to Parliament.

Mr Philip Murgor, the former Deputy Public Prosecutor, told the House Committee that the Anglo-Leasing cases will collapse if Mr Tobiko is appointed.

He argued that having defended some of the Anglo-Leasing case suspects, it would be unjust for him to turn into their prosecutor. He said issues of conflict of interest may be used to defeat the cases.

Mr Tobiko’s team is also accused of botching the fraud case against Mr Ruto by failing to call a key witness.

“Mr Ruto’s support for a man whose team was blamed by the police for bungling his Pipeline case raises suspicions,” said Mr Midiwo, who accused the Francis Atwoli-led panel which interviewed the candidate of negligence and incompetence.

But Law Society of Kenya chairman Kenneth Akide, who was a member of the panel, defended the process.

He said Mr Tobiko was picked because of his academic credentials as well as prosecution experience.

“Prosecution has been the preserve of the State Law Office. It’s therefore difficult for lawyers who have never been prosecutors to score marks on prosecution experience.

“That is why our three nominees were from the State Law Office,” he explained.

Last Friday, Mr Ruto also defended the candidate telling those not satisfied with his acquittal in the Sh96 million fraud case to seek redress in court.

Mr Ruto said the CIOC should follow the law while vetting constitutional office applicants instead of condemning them for their previous work.