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"id": 35817,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Abdikadir",
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"legal_name": "Abdikadir Hussein Mohamed",
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"content": "This Act was published on 18th July, 2011, by the Government Printer, and on 20th July, 2011, the Speaker, by Communication, sent names from the President, the Prime Minister and those other institutions to the CIOC. We have realised that the Act carried a date of 5th July as the commencement date, and we were not sure when the Act was published. So, the Committee summoned the Government Printer to confirm the commencement date. If we were to go by date of 5th July, the time would have lapsed on the day we held the meeting. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Government Printer, indeed, confirmed that the publication date was 18th July, 2011. We requested that between the Government Printer and the Attorney-General, they carry a correction by way of Kenya Gazette Supplement through a corrigenda, which they did on 22nd July, 2011, and confirmed the date of commencement as 18th July, 2011. The names were then brought to the Committee, and the Committee went ahead to vet the individuals who were sent to the Committee. The names that were sent to us were as follows: (i) Nominations made by His Excellency the President: Prof. Mariam Wanjiku Mutugi and Amb. Mwanyengela Ngali. (ii) Nominations made by The Rt. Hon. Prime Minister: Dr. Ekuru Aukot and Miss Rozaah Akinyi Buyu. (iii) Nominations made by the Judicial Service Commission: Hon. Justice Isaac Lenaola and Miss Emily Ominde. (iv) Nominations made by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Advisory Board: Miss Irene Cheptoo Keino and Mr. Charles Kariuki Wambugu. (v) Nominations made by the Association of Professional Societies in East Africa: Dr. William Okelo Ogara and Miss Sofi Njeru Muturi. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, these names came before the Committee and we were supposed to vet them for suitability and to be approved by the House. We interacted with these ladies and gentlemen but noted the requirements of the Constitution for gender, ethnic and regional balance. For gender, indeed, the Act took care of that because each of the nominating bodies was required to pick one man and one woman. The President was required to pick one man and one woman. The Prime Minister was required to pick one man and one woman. The Judicial Service Commission, the Advisory Board of the Kenya Anti-Corruption and the Association of Professional Societies of East Africa, each picked one man and one woman. On the issue of regional balance, taking into account the old provinces, the Committee was unhappy with regional balance by the individual nominees who were sent to us. If we were to look at them in line with their perceived origins – indeed, we asked them where they came from – it would seem that the Eastern, North Eastern and the Western provinces were not represented in the list. I say “perceived” because of what I said earlier with regard to the input into this matter. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Committee was able to come to the conclusion that the seven individuals finally picked were substantially able to represent the face of the country, and that in the interest of moving forward, and knowing that none of the Commissions will take care of everybody in one go, it is better, in the circumstances, to approve the list. As far as gender is concerned, the seven people we nominated were four women and three men. We believe that with that, the gender equity issue is addressed. But we concluded, as a Committee, that henceforth, this particular Act needs to be amended, so that the nominating bodies can speak to each other and co-ordinate their nominations before they come to the House, so that the balancing, in terms of the regions, can be achieved before the nominations come to the House. With respect to individual nominees, I will move fast in the interest of time. With respect to Prof. Wanjiku Mutugi, she did impress the Committee very well in terms of her clarity and conceptualization of issues. She is a holder of a PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology. She was born on 20th November 1959. She holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), a Master of Science Degree in Genetics from the University of Nairobi, a Bachelors Degree in Biology from Philippines Union College, Manila. She is currently an Associate Professor at JKUAT. We noted that she did vie for a parliamentary seat against the gentleman right across the aisle in Ndia Constituency in 2007 and later served as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Party between 2007 and 2008. She, however, confirmed categorically to the Committee when she was asked whether she would run for an elective post in the next elections; she was very clear that she would not and that in her opinion that would not be a problem. She told us that she had traffic offences in so far as a query on whether she had ever been taken to court was concerned. She also had a civil case between Karen Motormart and herself. This was Civil Case No.2914 of 2006. The Committee found the nominee eminently qualified and proposed her strongly for approval by this House. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, with respect to the nomination of Amb. Mwanyangela Ngali, he is a citizen born in 1947. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) Degree from the University of Nairobi. He is a career civil servant and a diplomat having served in several diplomatic missions. He has worked as a Board member in various Government parastatals. I will take the responsibility of the Committee for the error on page nine of the Report with respect to part 18(iv) indicating that he was never charged in court. That is an error. It goes to our poor report writing as a Parliament which this Committee I Chair deliberated on last time. Indeed, he was charged with a minor traffic offence and fined Kshs2,000. He was the chairperson of NARC-K Party, Wundanyi Branch. Previously he was a member of KANU, DP, NARC and PNU. Indeed, this gentleman and the lady and one of the other ladies we will talk about have had active political careers. The Committee deliberated as to the viability of having members of the selection panel who have taken part in politics or were active in politics. The Committee came to the conclusion that, indeed, that was the way the Act was designed. The reason why the President and the Prime Minister were given the duty to nominate nominees was that they would have that--- In any event, the President and the Prime Minister and Members of this House who are working on these matters, are all politicians. We thought that, as long as they uphold the integrity issues, that should not be a bar. The law indeed does not bar the members of the selection panel from having had a political career or from having to stand for office in the next general elections. However, the law bars the commissioners in the Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission (IBEC) from holding political office or from having held a political office in the previous five years. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, with respect to Rozaah Akinyi Buyu, she is a Kenyan born in 1962. You have the report and, therefore, I will be fast. The only issue to bring out is that, Ms. Buyu was a member of the ODM and also a member of the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission (IIBRC). There were a few Members who wanted to bring out the fact that they, individually, were not happy with the work output of the IIBRC and might have felt that a member of that Commission probably was not appropriate. However, as the Report says later, the Committee felt that our discussions were not a case concerning the IIBRC. We were looking at this particular lady for her suitability. The work load of the IIBRC might not necessarily have been only hers and that she should not be held responsible for the entire outlook of that Commission. The same applies to Irene Cheptoo Keino, Justice Isaac Lenaola and Ms. Sophie Njeri Muturi. Those then were the seven nominees that we are proposing for approval; Sophie Njeri Muturi, Irene Cheptoo Keino, Isaac Lenaola, Rozaah Akinyi Buyu, Ekuru Aukot, Amb. Mwanyangela Ngali and Prof. Marion Wanjiku Mutungi. You will recall that Dr. Aukot was the Executive at the Constitutional Implementation Committee (CIO) and in our opinion, eminently qualified. Those seven individuals; four great ladies and three gentlemen, are all exceptionally qualified in the opinion of the Committee to handle these matters. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we then looked at some of the issues that the House has to grapple with. I know we are running out of time and will move fast. One of the issues is that when you have people who have been approved by this House within one session when they come up for approval in another appointment, how do we deal with them? We hope the House can come back to us on that matter. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, in the interest of time, I will propose that the Report be adopted and these seven eminent individuals be approved for appointment to the Selection Panel as established under the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act. I beg to move. I will be seconded by my Vice-Chairperson."
}