Folks,

1) Provincial Administration MUST be scrapped completely and be made a gone case.

2) All Judges to be vetted those found with criminal offense MUST be charged. There are no options….the New Constitution MUST be followed to the later. These are the people, some of who have brought Kenya down to its knees. It is pay-back time.

3) Former President Moi MUST return all benefits and security attached to him that are being paid by Taxpayer immediately.

4) From all these drama, Kenya Government has proved it is dysfunctional and so it is a FAILED STATE. We demand for an Interim Government to take over and run the affairs of Administrative till the election is done 2012 and a New Office Bearers are elected.

5) Ocampo must take the masterminders and funding of chaos of 2007 election gone bad take them before ICC in Hague immediately and make them pay back and compensate victims and return stolen money banked overseas to the Government

6) Endorsment of New Judges must take immediate effect and the Commission must begin their work in two weeks time.

7) Kibaki should be charged for stealing the election in 2007 and jailed

8) No taxpayer public money will be paid to any thief who stole and brought the country to nothingness

9) All those who stole from public in whichever form should be charged and jailed.

10) Crimes against Human Rights and Human Right violators must be charged and send to jail immediately … those found guilty must compensate the claimants

11) Kibaki must stop treating the Government of Kenya like his personal or Kikuyu Property. He has dified and broken the New Constitution he swore to uphold and respect. He must be charged for breaking his oath and from employing and hiring 33 DCs are Provincial Administration against the proceedure of the Reform as is in the New Constitution

12) Kibaki diploys people of his Tribesmen to the local District all over Kenya and this is a criminal offense.

13) All debts accrued must be paid by those corrupt leaders who facilitated the expenses and transfered the fundings

14) Anglo Leasing Debts, Goldenbarg, Grand Regency, Migingo, Lake Victoria, Titanium in Kwale, theft of AGOA funding, School Funding, etc, etc, must be paid by those who facilitated those transaction.

15) No one will pay Judge who quite for life except if Kibaki and Raila have agreed to pay them from their own private and personal kitty.

16) We want to know updates and fate of the Charter House Bank whose account was frozen because of shoddy corrupt deals

For this reason, this Coalition Government must be disbanded immediately. These two principles cannot be trusted to deliver and implement the New Constitution fairly and according to the requirement as prescribed both in the Reform and the New Constitution.

No Judge should be paid a penny until and unless they are all vetted. We all are waiting to hear the MESS they created at the JUDICIARY. No one is leaving scottfree. We are getting all their ASSESS this time round, and no one will be paid PUBLIC MONEY, until PUBLIC IS SATISFIED.

So any debt Kibaki and Raila will create within this New Constitution, and which is not included in the constitution, will be put on their head. It will be a burden on their shoulder they must face Justice and be charged accordingly.

Members of the Cabinet and Politicians should speak freely so people can believe in their stand, so we know who to send home and who to keep, since people are the employers of Legislatures.

Kibaki and PM Raila have failed and we cannot wait for another day. I am tired and sick to see this continued mess.

Thanks,

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

Outrage over Cabinet move on judges, chiefs

The government was on Friday accused of trying to water down the provisions on grassroots administration and vetting of judges.

Politicians, civil society groups and lawyers protested that the government was taking over the roles of the Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution and the parliamentary Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee to introduce unpopular laws into the document.

The commission is the body that will oversee the implementation of the new Constitution once it is constituted while the parliamentary select committee will oversee its functions.

At the centre of the fresh storm are plans by the government to restructure the provincial administration and bring back paramount chiefs.

The Cabinet is also accused of ignoring the views of the legal fraternity and endorsing a weak Bill to vet judges and magistrates.

On Thursday, the Cabinet endorsed the Vetting of Judges and Magistrates Bill for possible enactment to guide the re-hiring of judges and magistrates according to the new Constitution.

On the same day, Internal Security minister George Saitoti and permanent secretary Francis Kimemia announced plans to restructure the provincial administration to fit into the devolved government.

On Friday, Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang’ and MPs under the auspices of Parliamentary Caucus for Reforms termed the plans to restructure the provincial administration as unconstitutional and vowed to oppose them vigorously.

“We must be bold enough and tell our PCs, DCs and chiefs to pack up and go. If there is one thing this Constitution is grounded on, it is on dismantling the provincial administration,” said Mr Kajwang’.

At a press conference at Parliament buildings, the MPs led by Boni Khalwale, Charles Kilonzo, Nkoidila ole Lankas, Yusuf Chanzu and Dan Mwazo also accused Prof Saitoti and Mr Kimemia of trying to sneak in the provincial administration “through the backdoor”.

“The Executive must accept that the provincial administration is gone. No Kenyan is ready to fund offices which are not constitutional, least of all that of paramount chiefs,” said Dr Khalwale.

The politicians spoke as civil society groups and lawyers protested that the Cabinet disregarded their views and endorsed a mutilated Bill for vetting of judges.

They accused the government of trying to hijack judicial reforms to suit its political interests by giving itself the role.

Arbitrary decision

The Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida-Kenya), the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the International Commission of Jurists, Kenya Private Sector Alliance and private sector group Creco vowed to lobby Parliament to reject the Bill.

LSK chairman Kenneth Akide said: “In an arbitrary decision, Cabinet deleted the provision proposing professional organisations nominate the persons who comprise the vetting board.”

Fida chairperson Naomi Wagereka said that the Cabinet decision was a sign that anti-reform forces had started fighting back, while Mr Kawive Wambua of Creco said the decision must be rescinded.

On his part, Mr Kajwang’ said Kenyans had loudly spoken against the retention of the provincial administration when giving their views to the Committee of Experts (CoE) and would not allow the Internal Security ministry to sneak it in.

The team working on the restructuring plan led by Mr Kimemia wants to reintroduce paramount chiefs and appoint more regional commissioners to coordinate the functions and policies of the National Government in each of the 47 counties.

Wasting taxpayers’ money

The paramount chiefs will be given more responsibilities and paid better while the provincial administration will be retained and in some cases expanded.

Related Stories

· MPs in push to scrap provincial administration

Six PCs and 22 regional commissioners will be sent to the 47 counties, Mr Kimemia said.

Mr Chanzu accused the government of wasting taxpayers’ money on seminars to train PCs, DCs and chiefs on their new roles while fully aware that the new Constitution did not recognise the provincial administration.

“Kenyans voted to have two systems of governance, the National Government and the devolved government. If you retain PCs and DCs, you are creating a parallel and illegal governance structure,” said Dr Khalwale.

Former Nyakach MP Peter Odoyo also accused the Internal Security ministry of usurping the functions of the Constitutional Implementation Commission which is charged with implementing the new Constitution.

Renamed coordinators

“Let them wait for the Commission on Implementation of the new Constitution and put their proposals on the table instead of rushing to create entities which are not provided for in the new Constitution,” said Mr Odoyo.

A detailed scheme of how things will look is expected to be released next week by the Office of the President. A team at OP has been working on the new structure.

Under this arrangement, PCs are to coordinate a cluster of counties to be classified as zones, or given desk jobs in Nairobi.

Regional Commissioners will on the other hand be renamed county coordinators and re-deployed to oversee the operations of the National Government in a number of counties lumped together bearing common features.

The Committee of Experts (CoE), which wrote the Constitution, appeared uncomfortable with the wholesale retention or expansion of the old system and warned that the restructured administration must keep off the day-to-day running of counties.

Judges who quit to get pay for life

Current Judiciary salaries

Judicial pensions are calculated using the base salary of the judge or magistrate, excluding allowances. Per month, this is what they earn:

· Highest paid judge – Sh481,000

· Entry level, Court of Appeal – Sh292,000

· Entry level, High Court – Sh232,000

Judges and magistrates who will opt to go home instead of being vetted afresh will get a “golden handshake” and a lifetime pension.

The farewell package from the Judiciary, which is being prepared by the government, will also be handed out to the judges and magistrates who will fail the vetting test as required under the new Constitution.

The government has decided to pay the benefits in line with the Pensions Act and not a lump-sum figure.

“Some judges had suggested a lump-sum to be paid to those opting to retire, but we felt that this will amount to inducement.

“Their pension will depend on how many years they have served and in accordance with the Pensions Act,” Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo said on Thursday. This means that the officers will receive a quarter of their total retirement money and the balance will be paid monthly for the rest of their lives.

Figures from the Judiciary showed that the basic salary of the highest paid judge is Sh481,000.

The basic entry salary for a High Court judge is Sh232,000 while that of Court of Appeal judge is Sh292,000

In calculating a judge’s pension, the government uses the basic salary only without including the allowances.

Since the Vetting of Judges and Magistrates Bill, which was published on Wednesday, is supposed to have been enacted by the end of October, it means the judges and magistrates will be vetted starting February next year, three months after the enactment of the law.

The Bill sets two months for the Vetting of Judges and Magistrates Board to be established and a similar period to prepare for the task.

Section 22 (2) of the Bill reads: “The Board shall have a preparatory period of two months during which it may undertake all tasks necessary to ensure it is able to work effectively from the commencement of its operations

Another Bill that seeks to establish a seven-member tribunal to decide the fate of judges accused of incompetence or gross misconduct has been approved by the Cabinet.

The Judicial Service Bill to be published on Friday, lays out the criteria for the recruitment, removal, disciplining and promotion of judges and magistrates. Mr Kilonzo said if enacted, the Bill will radically transform the Judiciary and ensure that it operates independently and impartially.

Kenya hires 33 DCs in support for PA

The Kenya Government has given its strongest indicator that the provincial administration is here to stay by appointing 33 district commissioners.

The appointments are contained in a circular addressed to all provincial commissioners by the Internal Security and Provincial Administration Permanent Secretary Francis Kimemia. The changes were made on Friday last week.

The 33 include two new appointees while the rest have been transferred from other districts.

Patrick W Simiyu leaves the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take up his new duties as the DC in Migwani district while Kobia wa Kamau, previously an officer in the East African Community Ministry is the new Machakos DC.

The new officers are required to report to their new stations by Friday.

Debate over the provincial administration has recently heightened with some MPs plotting to abolish the structures altogether.

The new constitution however requires the national government to restructure the provincial administration with respect to the system of devolved government.

Internal Security minister George Saitoti has, however, maintained that the structures will not be abolished but restructured in line with the provisions of the new Constitution.

The king maker

By MWAURA SAMORA, msamora@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, September 16 2010 at 12:14

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is world famous for his fiery world view, expressed in bombastic speeches and garnished with contempt for convention.

An all-female bodyguard, pitching Bedouin tents in five-star hotels and throwing tantrums is the image you have of the Libyan showstopper.

Gaddafi spreads tentacles from Tripoli to Cape Town

For some time, Gaddafi has been exporting his brand of politics to the rest of Africa through the Forum of the Kings, Sultans, Princes, Sheikhs, and Traditional Leaders of Africa, which recently met him in Libya.

Although he is no longer the chairman of the African Union (AU), in July, Gaddafi’s entourage stormed and stole the presidential show in Kampala. After making a grand entry at the Entebbe International Airport, his bodyguard got involved in a fist fight with its Ugandan counterpart before the “Brother Leader” smacked one of his aides for taking him to the wrong venue.

Not the one to take opposition kindly, Gaddafi stormed out of a presidential AU forum to set up an informal meeting under a tree, where he patronisingly met various leaders as his staff made tea on a charcoal stove.

Before the summit began, the Libyan leader had been accused of trying to sabotage the summit by attempting to book all the five-star hotels in Kampala.

A few days later, Gaddafi was at it again, this time hosting a summit of African tribal kings, chiefs, sultans and mayors in Tripoli that coincided with his 41st anniversary since he rose to power.

In 2009, this gathering had bestowed the title King of Kings on Muammar Gaddafi.

“We have decided to recognise our brother leader as the king of kings, sultans, princes, sheikhs and mayors of Africa,” read a statement from the forum, which groups more than 200 tribal chiefs. Many have read Gaddafi’s intention to use this backing as a bargaining chip to convince Africa and the world that he would be the best choice to head a United States of Africa (USA).

“Elections are not for Africa. Hence once Africa becomes a single state, there would be no elections because there are dozens. of examples of people who have lost their lives across the continent because of election disputes,” Gaddafi explained after his installations, which further confirmed his long held desire to reign over Africa.

Founded in 2008 and bankrolled by the Libyan leader, the Forum of the Kings, Sultans, Princes, Sheikhs, and Traditional Leaders of Africa was mandated to carry out several tasks, most of which are aligned with his vision of a United States of Africa.

Besides the forum of kings, there is also the league of princes and princesses that is meant to represent the interests of the continent’s youth.

“Members of the forum would like to be an interface — better, a channel of communication — between the administrative and the political authorities and the populations,” explains one of the organisations manuals.

Other activities of this body include creating a special award, called Malick Moulouk, to be presented to the movie director who will have best “developed the African culture” during the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in December.

To assert its intent on reaching out to the world without going through the structures of their central governments, the traditional leaders have appointed former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi to be the forum’s ambassador to the United Nations and the European Union.

Except in nations like Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Uganda, where tribal chieftains and kings have some clout, these leaders are rarely worth more than their flowing garments. But, thanks to Gaddafi’s charm and petrol dollars, the profile of the ceremonial figureheads has taken an upswing.

Besides having one of their representatives sitting in the AU, this gathering of royals has clinched several development projects with the Partnership for Africa Development, NEPAD. As a result, some of their ‘subjects’ have landed scholarships from the Italian province of Tuscany.

The forum members are also supposed to furnish Gaddafi with the development needs of their people for funding. Gaddafi is said to have started this forum to urge traditional leaders to press their national governments to sign up to his vision of a united Africa, after failing to sell it to his peers, who are wary of alternative centres of power.

The populist North African’s dalliance with the tribal chieftains has not been taken lightly by the continent’s political leaders. Even among the beneficiaries of the Gaddafi’s largesse, voices of dissent abound.

“Is this neo-colonialism? Most of our traditional leaders here are very poor and, as such, they are just agreeing with everything without any objection. It sounds as if there are clandestine intentions to have us as puppets of this forum in our own countries,” complained a traditional leader from the Tonga tribe of Zambia on the issue of declaring Gaddafi the “King of Kings of Africa”.

Kibaki, Raila dragged into closed bank saga

Sept. 7th 2010

Ongoing hearings of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance heard that American Ambassador Michael Ranneberger wrote to the two principals warning against re-opening of the institution that was shut by the Central Bank of Kenya four years ago.

In the letter dated January 25, 2010, tabled at the hearings, Mr Ranneberger said allowing Charterhouse Bank to re-open “will be a significant setback to the government’s stated commitment to reform.”

He had in an earlier communication to Attorney-General Amos Wako alleged that the bank had been used to launder Sh40 billion, the proceeds he claimed were from the evasion of taxes and related crimes from 1999 to 2006.

The British High Commission made similar allegations in 2006 and 2008, claiming that a member of the committee had “bribed and bullied MPs” on the matter.

Four government institutions that investigated the bank four years ago now seem to be backtracking on their own findings.

The Central Bank, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, the office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Finance are now distancing themselves from the decision to close the bank.

“Given the negative history behind Charterhouse Bank and the Kenyan Government’s declared commitment to real fundamental reform, I strongly encourage you to disapprove any request to permit Charterhouse Bank to resume its business,” wrote Mr Ranneberger.

The letter was copied to Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta and the Central Bank of Kenya governor, Prof Njuguna Ndung’u.

The Central Bank appointed a statutory manager and shut down the bank in June 2006 following a report by a special investigations team.

The closure was meant to prevent a run on the bank after a leaked report was tabled in Parliament.

“The action was deemed necessary in order to safeguard the interests of depositors, creditors and the institution and is consistent with the provisions of the Banking Act,” said the governor.

After the statutory manager, Ms Rose Detho, took over, the CBK commissioned an audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which showed that the management had contravened the Banking Act, the CBK Act and the Central Bank Prudential Regulations.

Based on the August 31, 2006 PwC audit report and observations of the statutory manager, the then Finance minister Amos Kimunya issued a 28-day notice of the intention to cancel the bank’s licence.

But the directors denied any wrongdoing and alleged that the actions against the bank were malicious and discriminatory.

Prof Ndung’u told the committee that the law at the time was inadequate to handle some of the allegations against the bank.

“Most of the allegations against the institution touched on money laundering. The country did not then have a law on money laundering, thus making it difficult for the Central Bank to legally justify any money laundering allegations and take action,” said Prof Ndung’u.

He said the bank was actually in operation, but court orders barred the statutory manager from handling clients.

“It is very sad that after four and a half years, we have not been able to challenge ex-parte orders. You wonder what type of legal system we are running. You cannot challenge ex-parte orders for four years,” he said.

KRA Commissioner-General Michael Waweru said their investigations on tax evasion focused on Charterhouse customers, not the bank itself. Therefore KRA had no hand in the bank’s closure.

“Placement of banks and financial institutions under statutory management is regulated by the Banking Act, over which KRA has no jurisdiction,” he told the Parliament team.

The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission took a similar stance. Deputy director in-charge of Investigation and Asset Tracing John Mutonyi testified: “In my position, I would say the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission has nothing against Charterhouse Bank. We have, and we have had no issue with Charterhouse Bank.”

He said three companies: W.E. Tilly, Creative Innovations and Tusker Mattresses- were KACC’s concerns at the time.

Deputy Solicitor General Muthoni Kimani, who appeared on behalf of the State Law Office last week, said: “We have done our part and said (to CBK) ‘There’s nothing stopping you and you can re-open.”

The committee chaired by Nambale MP Chris Okemo is investigating circumstances that led to the closure of the bank and why it remains closed four years after it was placed under statutory management.

The investigations were necessitated by a petition to Parliament by 35 account holders whose money remains held up in the bank.