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{
    "id": 40218,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/40218/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 420,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Abdikadir",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1,
        "legal_name": "Abdikadir Hussein Mohamed",
        "slug": "abdikadir-mohammed"
    },
    "content": "detention, we were told about his humility. We were told about his character. Indeed, he is an impressive gentleman. With respect to the nominee for Deputy Chief Justice, she is a candidate for Phd. in Law at the University of Nairobi currently. She received a Masters of Law Degree from the University of Nairobi in 2005 with distinction. She holds an LLB from the University of Nairobi in 1980. She holds a diploma in legal studies from the Kenya School of Law in 1981. She attended the Highlands School in Eldoret in 1976 for “A” level and she attended Lugulu Girls High School in 1974 for “O” levels. She was awarded Order of Grand Warrior by the Republic of Kenya in 2008. With the respect to the Director of Public Prosecutions, this gentleman, without doubt, is one of the brightest lawyers this country has ever produced. The gentleman was admitted for Phd. in Law to Cambridge University in 1991 to study securities regulation. In the legal field, securities regulation is like brain surgery. It is one of the most technical fields a lawyer can study. He received a Masters of Law from Cambridge University in 1991. He received a diploma in law from the Kenya School of Law in 1990. He received a first class LLB from the University of Nairobi in 1989. Those are very rare achievements as the Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs will tell you. There are very few Kenyans who hold a first class degree from the University of Nairobi. University of Nairobi is very stingy with its first class degrees. In 1984, this gentleman was the best “A” level student the country ever produced in that year. He had triple As standing. The gentleman went to Kanyekine High School for his “A” level and Athi River High School for his “O” level which he passed in 1982. He was awarded the Gandhi Smakat best “A” level student award for 1984, the Barclays Cambridge Commonwealth Scholarship Award in 1990, the Pigasa’s Cambridge Scholarship Award also in 1990. So, without doubt, the ladies and gentlemen we are talking about are men of exceptionally high qualifications and achievements. Then we went to look into the criteria that we had set out earlier on the issues of integrity and to allow the public to come to the Committee, so that they could tell us about their views on this gentleman and then we could go ahead with the vetting process. I will go to each one of them and what the Committee heard and the views the Committee formed. With respect to the Chief Justice nominee, Dr. Mutunga, the issues were as follows: One, that the nominee did not have judicial experience. That was true. However, the Committee realized that was not a requirement in the Constitution. You could have judicial requirement of 15 years experience or professional legal experience of 15 years or legal academic experience of 15 years. It did not require that you had to only be qualified as having experience of 15 years in the Judiciary. Indeed, some would consider the fact that he did not have 15 years experience in the Judiciary a plus and not a minus in the current circumstances. There were very many examples around the world of men and women who went to the top of their judiciaries, including in the USA, with no judicial experience and turned out to be some of the best chief justices including Chief Justice Warren of the United States Supreme Court or the Chief Justice of South Africa who turned out to be one of the best chief justices. So, really that was not a minus as far as the Committee was concerned."
}