Waki report adopted
President Mwai Kibaki receives the Waki Report on post election violence from Justice Phillip Waki at Harambee House, Nairobi in November 2008. Parliament has adopted the report. Photo/FILE
Parliament adopted the report on post election violence, paving the way for the introduction of a law to try the perpetrators of post-poll violence.
Fifteen MPs — four Cabinet ministers, an assistant minister and 10 other MPs — adopted the Commission of Inquiry on Post
Election Violence report at 6.30pm on Wednesday; a number way below the 30 members recommended by the House rules.
House Speaker Kenneth Marende had ordered that the Waki motion be debated, since it was part of the reason for the early recall of Parliament on January 20, this year.
Rearranged
The order paper was re-arranged and the Waki motion was debated first. Temporary Speaker Margaret Kamar presided over the vote.
MPs had already expressed their concerns over the delay in bringing up the core business of this special session.
In effect, MPs have two days left to pass the law establishing a Special Tribunal to try those suspected of participating in the post-election chaos. The tribunal has to be ready by January 30 this year.
Justice minister Martha Karua asked MPs to be wary of altering the proposals of the Waki team due to the danger that non-implementation of the report could pose to the country’s stability.
She also insisted that the judges be a mix of local and international professionals.
