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"id": 100200,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/100200/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ms. Karua",
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"speaker": {
"id": 166,
"legal_name": "Martha Wangari Karua",
"slug": "martha-karua"
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"content": "Parliament is under scrutiny on how we deal with the processes that come before us; as to whether we do it with seriousness or whether we look for all reasons to throw mud at people who are brought to the Table of the House for approval or disapproval. It is the right of Parliament to disapprove names, if hon. Members have good reasons. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is, indeed, our duty to give any reason that makes somebody unsuitable but that is accompanied by an equally important duty of only to speak when you have concrete reasons. Otherwise, we shall be mistaken for a lynch mob that destroys the character of professionals in this country. We must really take our duties seriously and only give indication when we have before us concrete evidence. I listened to a professional colleague and an hon. Member of this House giving reasons as to why one Dr. P.L.O. Lumumba is not suitable for the job, and said that it is because he vied for a parliamentary seat in 2007. On my part, I beg to differ and say that this demonstrates the leadership that we are looking for. A chief executive officer must have the leadership ability. I want to say that I do not remember seeing him politically active during the last three years since the last general elections. If he was continuously politically active, then one would have doubts. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is also in the Report that one of the Members entered a minority pocket that Dr. Lumumba failed to present that particular hon. Memberâs views at a plenary debate during the Bomas constitutional review process. It would have been wrong for the Secretary of the Commission, as he then was, to represent the views of a member or group of people. It was the duty of that hon. Member, or any of us involved in that process, to stand and put our views forward. You cannot expect members of a commission or the secretary to become your mouthpiece. With respect to the hon. Member, these are flimsy grounds, and I urge hon. Members not to take them. I have also seen the same objection entered against Mr. Bowry, because he has been representing various people. I am a lawyer myself. When I used to practise, I represented all manner of people. I used to practice, among others, criminal law. The fact that I represented criminals does not make me a criminal. I was merely doing my duty. So, unless we fail to capture the role of a professional, we should not take such flimsy grounds. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if that were to be the case, then even Members of Parliament who now have criminal cases would have no lawyers to represent them, because every lawyer would fear being called a criminal. Mr. Pravin Bowry has been doing his work as a lawyer. What we should be looking for is whether, personally, we know of any instance where any of the three candidates before us has failed to display the highest standard of integrity in performance of their duties. On my part, I know of no such incident with regard to the three, and I must confess that the lady is new to me, but I know both Dr. P.L.O Lumumba and Pravin Bowry as fellow advocates of the High Court. I know them to be people who exercise the highest degree of professional probity. I know that they are suitable for this job. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, what if Mr. Bowry or Dr. P.L.O. Lumumba encounter their former clients? The Commission is not one person. Even here in Parliament, when we come across a matter where we have an interest, we are required by the Standing Orders to declare such interests. So, if any member of the Commission comes up against a case where he knows the litigant too closely, even a Judge of the High Court, because we are all human beings and we all know other people, and we have family members, all that is required is that you disclose your closeness and you let the file go to somebody else. There are no grounds given before this House, or even in the Committee Report, which would make us reject any of these three eminent Kenyans. I want to remind Parliament that since this Parliament rejected the re-appointment of Justice Ringera, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) has been without substantive leadership. We cannot dither on this any longer, especially if we have no serious reasons. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is another thing bothering us as Parliamentarians. I think because of the events that have happened before, we agreed to buy fear of each other. If a person is unfamiliar to you, you reject him. You want your comfort zone. We start rejecting people not on any serious grounds, but because of our fears. If we continue treating each other with such fear, then we cannot be able to proceed. Perhaps, we cannot even get leadership. We ought to seek for someone to colonise us. If we had accepted this fear, we would never have formed any of the Commissions we formed after the problems we underwent in the period January-March, 2008, but I am glad that this Parliament has overcome it. We were able to form the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), the Disputes Resolution Tribunal, the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission (IIBRC), the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), which is now doing a commendable job. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let us not also fear these three prominent and eminent Kenyans. Let us endorse them, and let the Commission begin its work. Let us release their energies to help us fight corruption. I want to borrow the words of my senior colleague and friend, Mr. Orengo, referring to the mandates of the KACC; they investigate, they institute proceedings for recovery of assets, they lay anti-corruption strategies and educate. Just imagine the eloquence of Dr. P.L.O. Lumumba while educating the masses! This is talent that we are tapping. Let us not fear the talent we have in this country. I am also imagining Mr. Bowry evaluating a file. He is a very good criminal lawyer. I, first, encountered him when I was newly recruited as a magistrate in Nakuru. I know that he is a meticulous person who really prepares for his cases. This is the kind of talent we need in this Commission. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, after reading the CV of the lady, Madam Onsongo, I know that the qualifications she has will also add great value to this Commission under a dimension that is not strictly legal. We need all dimensions when we are dealing with cases. I want to persuade my colleagues that we allow this to move on. Dr. Lumumba has also been in charge of a programme â and he still is â in the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs called âMoving the Massesâ. Those of us who watch that programme have seen the zeal with which he is approaching the issue of educating the masses on the dangers of corruption. We want this talent to be within the body charged with this job. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, without repeating what others have said, I just want to say that it is time we had leadership that is substantive at this very necessary body. Let us release the energies of these three eminent Kenyans to help us combat corruption at a time when, regrettably, the Government has become comfortable bedfellows with corruption."
}