From: Judy Miriga
Folks,
First of all, this campaign to kick out Chief Justice Mutunga is nonsensical, stupid, foolish, dimwit, dumb, idiotic, naive, trivial and extremely irresponsible; which, only simpleminded who assume they have the power are cheating themselves. Willy Mutunga was not rigged into office but passed through stages of nominations as is required by the National Reform Accord; where before a panel of professionals, he was nominated as the top best. The panel of legal professionals represents the people; so Justice Willy Mutunga was appointed by the spirit and will of the people. Willy Mutunga therefore is the choice of the people and will not be treated as a dog nor will be put down like Saitoti and Ojode.
Secondly, Coalition Government of Kenya is not an elected government by the people. It was formed to bring peace after election of 2007/8 was rigged, was chaotic and it became deadly and was unconstitutional because, the Status Quo wanted to remain in power and control the Government illegally. In other words, the Coalition Government is not an authentic; genuine; real; with unquestionable evidence for acceptance that can be relied or trusted unless it was bounded with a Reform Change Agreement they were to comply with.
Attacking The US State Secretary Ms. Hillary Clinton in the manner at the panel of Crossfire; is uncalled for, illogical and insane that cannot be acceptable. It is wrong and unfair to say ICC was imposed on Kenya to effect Regime Change. I condemn this behaviour in the strongest term. For this I will stand firm to defend The US State Secretary Ms. Clinton against these balooned uncalled foul allegations from agents of Coalition Government leadership……and Yes, it shall not be business as usual.
The American intelligence has kept Kenya from being attacked and in many instances they provided information early in time when Kenya is under attack. A recent case was that of Bombolulu including the Iran Mafia and terrorists in Kenya. With this, you cannot put aside the Al-shabaab and Al-Qaeda in Kenya.
It must be remembered that the Coalition Government lives and breathes from funding, loans and favors support from UK and US Government to be able to pay Government employee salaries, maintain Armed Forces, provide education, HIV/Aids and research with other logistics Kenya needed for many years. They definitely have a vested interest to protect their interest as Partners of Development. They must therefore have a concern and a voice to protect their interest in Kenya.
Now that it is clear that the Coalition Government has failed to comply with the Reform Change Agreement upon their oath of allegiance they were bound to uphold; they must have a choice to urgently vacate office for Kenyan people mandate to plan for way-forward, which will take them places instead of being stuck in the mud.
The Coalition Government leadership cannot send hooligans to attack handlers of America or the British so crudely; they must follow protocol. This behavior cannot be tolerated. We will not allow part of Coalition Government machinery to pre-empt excuses to create unfavorable situations of instances for making election insecure as this behavior is seen as a prescription to prepare for rigging the next election.
Terrorisms of any nature or form is illegal by any standards.
Can the Coalition Government with their Agents like those in the penalists of Crossfire explain to the world their involvement with
1) the domestic terrorism of Al-shabaab; Al-Qaeda with the latest those of Iran with Iran explosives that arrived at the port of Mombasa?
2) the involvement of drug dealing and cartels in and around Kenya
3) the involvement and influence of child prostitution
4) the reason why there is excessive youth and women’s unemployment when funds were made available for the same and where those funds were diverted to
5) why public land is taken away from public with forceful relocation of people without their concent
6) why coalition government is interfering with Willy Mutunga’s Judicial system
7) explain to public why they are comparing Chinese with America and why Chinese citizens are imported from China to do work Kenyans are able to do themselves
8) Although the meeting with the President, just like the subsequent ones with the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chief Justice and the IEBC was behind closed doors, still word was leaked to the media detailing what Clinton said and the responses from the Head of State. Yes, it was reported that Clinton made it abundantly clear that if the two ICC suspects were allowed to run for elections then it would not be business as usual between the USA and Kenya……what does the Coalition Government not doing right and why are they afraid …. This the public want to know.
9) everyone knows the Coalition Government has messed the Constitutional Bills of Rights, do they want the civil public to keep quite without going to court??? Do the Coalition Government leadership want the world to believe that what the President says should be the religious truth even when it is clear things that are said by the president curve on special interest the reason why Kenya was at war killing and butchering themselves in 2007/8? That, people have not voice and must keep silent???
We have a competent judiciary ready to take on criminals and fraudsters masquerading as people of integrity must begin to start facing reality. For this reason, foreign governments who pay so much to protect their interest have a right to engage with the Government.
Lawyer Jennifer Shammalla, Jerry Okungu, Tony Gachoka and Wamalwa Kijana have errored by calling and trashing Obama Administration like they did. If it was not President Obama, the Referendum for people to own constitutional rights would not have taken place in Kenya. It is also criminal and insane to call the US State Secretary to have performed perjury………a Diplomatic Coup de tat (The breach of an oath or promise) in Kenya.
From the going ons in Kenya, we are convinced that the Coalition Government leadership have been sponsored by the Chinese and Iranian interest to attack America. It is now very clear that the Coalition Government must resign immediately or must be forced to resign now as nothing good will surely come from them. Pushing them to March will turn Kenya into a battle ground. They have failed and keeping them further is a prescription for more chaos, pain and sufferings ahead.
For the voice of reason and majority interest, on behalf of Kenya and Kenyans security and safety, I call on the Government of America to help us strengthen and provide solid security to CJ Willy Mutunga and support our call for Transitional Caretaker Committee to prepare way forward for Kenya to complete the Constitutional implementation and set a process to a safer electioneering.
Thank you all,
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
– – – – – – – – – – –
Crossfire_Part 1
Published on Aug 8, 2012 by K24TV
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Crossfire_Part 2
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Crossfire_Part 3
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Crossfire_Part 4
Published on Aug 8, 2012 by K24TV
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Tony Gachoka Is a Political Gun for Hire
Tuesday, 22 November 2011 00:20 BY MUTHUI KARIUKI
In an opinion piece published in the Star of November 18, titled “Strange Bedfellows in G7, PNU Alliances”, Tony Gachoka makes one thing clear — Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka is his target.
Hiding behind the guise of an objective analysis of the political realities in the country, particularly in the PNU and G7 alliances, Gachoka uses the entire article to paint the Vice President as a rudderless and isolated political operator. It is clear from the article though, that Gachoka is in his element – a political gun for hire!
The question is: who is the unlucky politician who is doing the hiring? Surely it can’t be anyone who has had the singularly unfortunate experience of having Gachoka working for him or her. Looking at the political arena, it is obvious Gachoka has burnt bridges with almost everyone.
His first major engagement was when he had a tryst with Charity Ngilu’s SDP as Publicity Secretary and member of the National Executive Committee, a position he abruptly resigned from in June 2002, hoping to land on greener pastures. Soon after, his destination became clear when he backed the Uhuru Project, a move which he later rued when, it failed spectacularly.
After the embarrassing miscalculation, Gachoka wandered the political wilderness for five years until 2007 when he backed Raila Odinga’s bid, another disastrous move, typical of Gachoka, who manifestly walks as fast as he talks – and never takes the trouble to think before doing both!
If he thought the creation of the coalition government was a reprieve, it came as a rude shock when he was fired in 2009 as Director of Protocol at the PM’s office, for insubordination and disrespect of his boss, PS Mohammed Isahakia.
Finding himself out in the cold again, Gachoka found solace in a non-starter alliance with Jimmi Kibaki, Eugene Wamalwa and a few other relatively young politicians. Just like in all his political engagements, Gachoka was hoping to harvest big from this alliance but it yielded nought instead. These latter day Young Turks saw through Gachoka’s smoke screen in good time.
Something is glaring about the above brief chronicle of Gachoka’s star-crossed political journey: The only major political player he has not worked with is Kalonzo. For an extremely non-picky operator of Gachoka’s caliber, who changes camps with such bewildering speed, one may wonder why.
The answer is obvious: he has never been given an opportunity to ply his mercenary trade in Kalonzo’s camp despite begging to be let in on several occasions.
Besides playing gun for hire, his miserable attempt to depict the VP as a dark horse in the presidential race is also a severe case of sour grapes – he is simply lashing out at the VP because he can’t have him.
The truth of the matter is that Kalonzo is committed to the G7, PNU alliance or whatever name one chooses to call the group of progressive and like minded politicians who have sworn unity in order to win the next elections in order to build on the firm foundation established by President Kibaki’s decade of transformative leadership.
One final statement. From a quick glance at Gachoka’s decade-plus career as a political wheeler-dealer, one can conclude thus: The man has what can be described as the exact opposite of the Midas touch: any political project Tony Gachoka touches fails. Woe betide his current client.
The writer is the Media and Communications Advisor to the Vice President
Activist Gachoka writes to ICC on post-poll chaos ‘evidence’
By AGGREY MUTAMBO amutambo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Monday, August 6 2012 at 12:26
Political activist Tony Gachoka has written to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) seeking to give information he says is “relevant” to the on-going cases against four Kenyans.
In a letter dated last August 1 this year, and which was republished as a paid-up ad in The Standard on Sunday, Mr Gachoka told ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda that he has information concerning the events of the 2007-2008 general election that culminated into violence.
Mr Gachoka told Ms Bensouda that he has volunteered to come forth and “disclose all that I know” with the support of documentary evidence because he has learnt the investigations the Prosecutor did in Kenya was not sufficient to get the culprits behind the post-election violence.
“Initially, I thought that the Prosecutor’s investigations would unearth the true circumstances surrounding and underpinning the post-election violence, and that the investigations would unmask the major players behind the violence,” he wrote.
There is no mention of the names that might feature in the information he is willing to disclose.
However, Mr Gachoka who is now close to the G7 and is working as an aide for Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa claims he was in charge of Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s dairy for all local and international meetings as well as sitting in those meetings when he was the Chief Protocol in the PM’s office between 2008 and 2009.
He adds that he worked as the PM’s political aide from 2005, the time Mr Odinga’s party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) was born.
“During my time working for the Prime Minister, certain information relevant to the ongoing International Criminal Court trials regarding the Kenya situation came to my knowledge.
“This information touches on some of the evidence adduced before the Court and which has been relied upon by the office of the Chief Prosecutor (sic),” he writes.
But the Prime Minister’s Office dismissed Mr Gachoka’s claim that he managed Mr Odinga’s meetings.
“He was never in charge of the diary,” PM’s Director of Communication Dennis Onyango tersely told the Nation. “Ask him to tell you what he did,” he added when we sought to know what his roles were.
Four Kenyans are facing a trial at the Hague for crimes committed during the post-poll violence in 2008 in which more than 600,000 people lost their homes and livelihood. They are Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, former Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura and radio journalist Joshua Sang.
Mr Gachoka defended his decison to withhold the ‘evidence’, saying he feared for his life.
“For some time, I have agonised as to whether I should come forward and reveal what I know regarding the Post-election violence…”
“I am afraid for my life and the lives of my family as the information I hold is extremely prejudicial to some powerful and influential personalities,” he said.
Mr Gachoka’s announcement makes him the second former PM’s employees to state they hold crucial information related to the 2008 violence.
Last month, Mr Odinga’s former Advisor on Coalition matters Miguna Miguna told a gathering at the launch of his book, Peeling Back the Mask, that he had information that could take most of the government officials to the Hague.
That announcement made the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko to order that Mr Miguna be arrested for withholding evidence.
However, Mr Miguna argued that the Police could not verify whether he had already given the evidence to the Hague.
Raila: Ruto, Uhuru setting stage to disprove ICC
Posted by BERNARD MOMANYI on March 12, 2012
NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 12 – Prime Minister Raila Odinga fired yet another salvo at his arch-rival William Ruto and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta whom he accused of setting the stage for non-cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) where they are facing charges for crimes against humanity.
In a statement attacking the two ICC suspects only a day after another one published in newspapers on Sunday, the Prime Minister said outcries by the two leaders was only meant to seek sympathy from Kenyans, yet some of them are the ones who voted to have cases against post-election violence suspects tried in The Hague.
“It is this spirit of impunity that frustrated efforts to establish a local tribunal to deal with post-election violence,” a statement from the Raila Odinga Secretariat said adding “Parliament was mobilised to defeat the Constitutional amendment that sought to do this, with the main perpetrators cunningly creating the false impression that they sought real justice, and could only achieve it through the ICC. The reality is that they did not wish the matter to be addressed at all – locally or otherwise.”
Ruto and Kenyatta have previously accused Odinga of using the ICC to lock them out of the presidential race in which both have expressed interest during the next general elections.
The statement issued late Monday went on to say “The same people shouting then, “Don’t be vague, let us go to The Hague,” are the ones now demonising the ICC. They seek to kill two birds with one stone – dragging the Prime Minister and other innocent parties into their self-inflicted woes, and at the same time making political capital out of the ICC matter.”
An earlier statement issued on Saturday from the Prime Minister’s secretariat was met with anger and fury from Kenyatta and Ruto who termed Odinga, a “principal beneficiary of the post election chaos” that rocked Kenya soon after the 2007 disputed presidential election.
The two last week lost a bid to appeal charges against them at the ICC and are now left with an admissibility challenge which will determine if they will stand trial at the Hague-based court, sometimes in May or even earlier.
The Prime Minister accused the two of “unnecessarily” linking the ICC charges to the country’s national election.
Odinga believes Kenyatta and Ruto are the real beneficiaries of the post election violence, contrary to the Sunday announcement by Ruto that it is Odinga who benefited most.
“The real beneficiaries of post-election violence are only too evident. They include those currently in the process of returning property acquired in areas where post-election violence victims were known to have been dispossessed of their land. Now these beneficiaries are rushing to return the land, in order to evade court processes. What greater admission of guilt could there be?,” the premier posed in an apparent reference to a move by Ruto to return land being claimed by an IDP in an ongoing court case.
Odinga said he does not see why the two are linking the ICC issue to the general election Kenyans are gearing up to participate in later this year when President Kibaki relinquishes power.
“The ICC has unfortunately now become an election issue. But since it is an election issue, let it now be known that the coming elections will also be a referendum on impunity. The time has come when every one of us must stand up to be counted. Either you are for the rule of law, or you are for impunity. It can’t be both. A choice must be made,” the terse statement from the Raila Odinga Secretariat said.
There was no immediate reaction to this latest barrage from the DPM or Ruto.
Cases against the two were confirmed in January alongside those of Journalist Joshua arap Sang and former Head of the Civil Service Francis Muthaura, a key ally of President Mwai Kibaki who served most of his life in the public service.
And to stress his point, Odinga did not mince his words in the statement which sought to elaborate on the exact cause of the 2007-08 chaos in the country, largely blaming suspects facing charges in The Hague.
“Some forces with a selfish agenda of their own, which included settling scores that had nothing to do with the elections, took advantage of the ensuing protest against this disenfranchisement of the Kenyan electorate,” the statement said.
Similar occurrences had occurred in parts of the country in 1991-92 and in 1997.
Some 1,300 Kenyans were killed, more than half a million others forcefully renditioned and thousands suffered all manner of indignity, classified in the international system as crimes against humanity.
“The victims were Kenyan citizens. They were not occupying forces from some foreign country, whose killing and eviction might have been cause for heroism and celebration. The matter was then supposed to pass quietly away, as in 1992 and 1997, and to wait for another election and another wave of crimes against innocent citizens,” said the statement from the Prime Minister’s secretariat.
He also warned the duo against dragging him in the murky waters of the woes they are facing and instead advised them to “seek to defend themselves in the impending trial. If they are innocent, as they have frequently professed at charged public rallies, the court will no doubt acquit them. No public petulance on their part can substitute for the court process. Nor can forged documents and the besmirching of innocent persons’ reputations assist them.”
On Thursday, Yatta MP Charles Kilonzo tabled a document in Parliament purportedly authored by the British government which they also linked to Odinga alleging a conspiracy to have President Kibaki face charges at The Hague over the post election violence.
The UK government has since disowned the alleged dossier as a forgery.
“It is clear that the present posturing against the ICC, complete with the weaving in of the PM’s name and that of the British Government, is a dress rehearsal for non-cooperation with the ICC. It is clear that the foundation is being laid for the accused to refuse to attend trials of the cases against them,” the premier’s secretariat said.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Tony Gachoka: Gigolo Or Shrewd Operator With No Morals?
Most Kenyans first came to hear of Tony Gachoka during the late 80’s and early 90’s when he published an alternative press publication known as the Sunday Post.
What majority of Kenyans don’t know is the fact that the fast talking gigolo turned politician has such a sordid past that it could make a great script for a Hollywood thriller.
‘TG’ as he is popularly known by the ladies has been a fun loving guy from an early age and at one time, he used to hang out with Uhuru Kenyatta and Gideon Moi, two popular philanderers and playboys who’s limits were boundless
In a bid to sustain his big spending habits, Gachoka laid his hands on the title deed of the family’s coffee plantation and secured himself a big loan from the bank and went ahead to rent a full floor in a prestigious city building to conduct ‘business’.
One of the businesses he did was the publication of the notorious Sunday Post where his contacts with Gideon Moi proved useful because he was able to identify corrupt Asians, most of whom paid him handsomely to keep their stories out of his rag.
In between his business, ‘TG’ could usually take time off and fly to South Africa with the Moi and Kenyatta siblings for lunch or even a weekend and carry along beautiful young women who were in abundant supply for the trio, with the kind of money that was flowing.
Gachoka’s family only came to know of the loan when the bank attached their property for auction for nonpayment on the loan in a saga that resulted to Tony being cursed by the mother.
In a desperate bid to make money after the saga, Gachoka started preying on rich and lonely women and where best to find them than inside parliament and classy restaurants in exclusive suburbs.
He managed to catch the eye of Charity Ngilu while she was still in the opposition and an affair started soon after as her elderly husband, Engineer Ngilu was already senile and sick not to mention his terrible drinking habits. He died in December last year.
The rich engineer had already contracted high blood pressure and diabetes, two diseases that are known to quickly kill libido.
During this same period, Gachoka was also having other affairs with rich women in Nairobi, some even married as he struggled to maintain his big spending lifestyle by ‘borrowing’ lots of cash from his lovers.
His big break came when NARC came to power and Ngilu was appointed health minister. Gachoka o date been awarded lucrative tenders worth millions of shillings to ironically publicize the HIV-AIDS scourge.
The philanderer has made so much money that he has now opted to plunge into politics and he is contesting the Embakasi parliamentary seat on an ODM-Kenya ticket.
Unfortunately, most Kenyans in leadership positions know the story of Tony Gachoka very well and it will remain to be seen whether the high profile Gigolo will secure the ODM ticket.
Like any good, selfish opportunist, he has already made friends with ODM kingpin Raila Odinga and has even assured him that he is capable of securing votes for him from central province, a near impossible feat which Raila himself does not believe but again, with politics, ‘yote yawezekana’ which means everything is possible.
— On Sat, 8/11/12, Joseph Lister Nyaringo wrote:
From: Joseph Lister Nyaringo
Subject: Campaign to Kick out CJ Willy Mutunga
Date: Saturday, August 11, 2012, 10:28 AM
Thank God for the new constitution. Its exposing many and their nakedness.
Joseph Lister Nyaringo – North America
www.listernyaringo.org
http://listernyaringo.blogspot.com/
In prosperity our friends knows us; in adversity we know our friends. John Churton Collins
Date: Saturday, August 11, 2012, 10:28 AM
Thank God for the new constitution. Its exposing many and their nakedness.
From: paul nyandoto
Sent: Saturday, August 11, 2012 9:56 AM
Subject: RE: Campaign to Kick out CJ Willy Mutunga
Guys:
I like kenyans in one way or the other. Sometimes we kenyans act very stupidly as if God never gave us any gift. What do we expect from Moi`s (Ruto) of Kenyatta`s (Uhuru) kids.
Kenyatta and then Moi ruled Kenya as if they were ruling their own back yards. Rules and laws were left to the poor and less fortunates to follow.
The ICC & United Nation wanted Kenyans to form local tribunal for the PEV. Did we do it?.
Now GSU should arrest Waki for committing treason. Come on kenyans have we now reduced ourselves to toddlers or what ?. Who in kenyan soil signed the Roman agreement concerning ICC and Hague?. Why can`t we be logical once in our life and send the GSU to arrest whoever linked kenya to the ICC officially and signed the agreements.
On the MRC I still think that we should think very hard on what those MRC are after: I would not like our country to be divided into parts just because some greedy arab sultan arrived earlier and settled in the cost so we have to follow their rules they used by then. It is an historical injustice against our local people by then which the greedy arabs never compensated for up to today.
On Willy Mutunga I think he has stood firm and he is not singing `baba na mama`with other idiots, that is why they want him off.
Paul Nyandoto
http://www.the-star.co.ke/national/national/89106-campaign-mooted-to-kick-out-cj
Campaign mooted to kick out CJ
SATURDAY, 11 AUGUST 2012 00:04 BY WALTER MENYA
The Star (Nairobi)
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Kenya: Campaign Mooted to Kick Out Chief Justice
Tagged: East Africa, Kenya, Legal Affairs
By Walter Menya, 11 August 2012
A campaign to intimidate the judiciary and eventually bring down Chief Justice Willy Mutunga was gathering pace yesterday. The Star has established that the the National Conservative Forum intends to launch a massive attack on the judiciary and the CJ to wear out Mutunga’s credibility and that of the judiciary.
According to multiple sources, the forum which is associated with politicians allied to Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto, is composed of professionals, some of whom were in the ‘No’ side during the 2010 referendum on the constitution.
Yesterday, the forum held a seminar at Panafric hotel in Nairobi, where key speakers launched scathing attacks on the judiciary for advancing a foreign agenda. The theme of the workshop was ‘Has judicial activism and civil society replaced the sovereign will of the people and become the alternative government?’ Sources said the forum was a launchpad for politicians allied to Uhuru and Ruto to make concerted calls for the CJ to resign or call on President Kibaki to set up a tribunal to investigate his conduct. The sources revealed that the workshop was a precursor to a nationwide political campaign to intimidate the judiciary.
Yesterday, the forum’s founder Jeniffer Shamalla and one of the speakers Charles Kanjama refuted claims that politicians close to the ICC suspects were the sponsors of the workshop. The workshop dwelt on the US’s interests in Kenya’s elections, especially after the recent visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “That is absolutely not true. It is simply an attempt to intimidate us,” Shamalla said. “Ask whoever said that. As far as I am concerned they are rumourmongers,” she added.
Among the speakers at the workshop were lawyers Kibe Muigai and Dr John Khaminwa. The speakers said the judiciary delivers rulings that were not based on law but on political correctness. Kanjama, who was in the ‘No’ camp in 2010 said he was not aware of such a scheme. “There may be such a plot but I am not aware of it,” he said.
During yesterday’s forum, Muigai accused the judiciary for being excessively activist. He cited three cases in which the judiciary allegedly played to the gallery and political whims in its rulings. These are the High Court ruling that found the appointment of county commissioners unconstitutional, the ruling on the delimitation of constituency boundaries and the another that lifted the ban on the Mombasa Republican Council. “I have no problem with judicial activism but it should serve the best causes. If you engage in activism, you must get the law right,” said Muigai. He asserted that in lifting the ban on MRC, the judiciary had legitimised treason.
He berated Justice Philip Waki whom he accused for committing acts of treason when he handed the envelope with names of the PEV suspects to chairman of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities Kofi Annan. “The reason why we have the ICC cases in Kenya is because Waki, on the steps of Harambee House, handed the envelope with the names of suspects to Kofi Annan. If I was President Kibaki, I would have ordered the GSU to immediately arrest Waki for committing treason,” Muigai stated.
Yesterday, the Star learnt that the group is also said to have identified human rights defenders who are alleged to be cooperating with the ICC for intimidation. “The CJ has been consistent in the application of the spirit and letter of the constitution which has caused a lot of panic among this group, considering the kind of rulings that are coming from the courts and the only way they have devised is to attack the CJ.
They are getting massive support from those who were against the new constitution and those who have plundered this country’s resources,” one human rights activist said yesterday. Last week, Uhuru’s lawyer Evans Monari sought the direction of the court on why Mutunga was commenting on the matter before the court.
10. Aug, 2012 Annanymous:
Reforms implemented in the judiciary since chief justice Dr. Willy Mutunga and his team assumed office last year have been cited as the most far reaching and worthy of being emulated by other arms of government. The judiciary has been asserting its authority as an independent arm of government, going by recent rulings delivered. And judicial activism, a term introduced to most Kenyans during the vetting of candidates to the position of chief justice and his deputy, is increasingly being used in reference to the workings of the judiciary today. But, is the trend good or bad for the delivery of justice? Put it differently, are the judges overreaching themselves? Sylvia Chebet sought some perspectives into this debate.
The Star (Nairobi)
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Kenya: CIC Faults U.S Remarks Over Hague Suspects
By Brian Otieno, 11 August 2012
The Constitution Implementation Commission has criticised the assertions by the US that certain presidential candidates should not be allowed to contest in the general election. CIC chairman Charles Nyachae said Kenya seeks to implement the constitution notwithstanding anybody that might be affected by it.
Speaking in Mombasa yesterday, Nyachae said the law should not be implemented so as to target any individuals. “I read in the media and I have not read a denial to date…that the US secretary of State is said to have said to either the President or I’m not quite sure who about the US position on certain presidential candidates not being allowed to contest the coming elections.
“What we seek to do us Kenyans is to implement the constitution that we passed. What we are required to do as the commission that has an oversight responsibility is to ensure that that constitution is implemented in letter and spirit,” said Nyachae. “Implementing this constitution is not about targeting any individuals. We want a law that we would be able to have reference to,” he added.
US secretary of State Hillary Clinton is said to have expressed the US’ position regarding the candidacy of Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyata and Eldoret North MP William Ruto. Uhuru and Ruto are facing charges of crime against humanity at the International Criminal Court. Their trials are set to starting in April 10 and 11 after elections.
Clinton, who visited Kenya last week and held talks with both President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, is quoted as saying suspects facing criminal charges should not be allowed to contest the presidency, noting if they were voted in, the US may find it difficult working with them. Yesterday, Nyachae said laws should be formed for posterity and that if anyone falls on the wrong side of the law then that will be that individual’s problem.
Nyachae said Chapter six of the must be respected and that laws must be right for anyone in the country and not made in such a way that it has particular effects on certain individuals. “What I would have expected, whether it is the US secretary of State or any other person who really seeks to support our constitution, what I would expect them is to call for Kenyans to ensure that we confirm compliance with the letter and spirit of the constitution and the law that is made there under.
“But the minute you begin talking about specific individuals then it looks like you are doing a law to target specific individuals. That cannot be the intention of the implementation of the constitution,” said Nyachae. At the same time, Nyachae also reiterated CIC’s disappointment over the Cabinet’s removal of the entire section of the Leadership and Integrity Bill that deals with the vetting of persons seeking state of public office.
“Right now as the Bill reads, there is not a process that can be used to vet you, when you want to run for office, to ensure that you are compliant with the letter and spirit of Chapter Six of the Constitution,” said Nyachae. He maintained that the commission will send detailed advisory to the National Assembly as they discuss the Bill. The commission has already published a public advisory.
“If that doesn’t work we will send another advisory to the President before he assents to the Bill, if that doesn’t work then we will have no choice but to go to the constitutional court,” said Nyachae. He was speaking on the sidelines of the CIC retreat with MPs on three security bills including the Kenya Defence Forces Bill, the National Security Council Bill and the National Intelligence Service Bill.