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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, once the Senate received this Petition, we went through the normal Standing Orders procedures and the Senate committed the vetting of these people to this Sessional Committee on Devolved Government. In vetting these people, the Sessional Committee on Devolved Government working with relevant departments invited the nominees to the Committee for interview. We went ahead to provide the criteria as provided for in law; as to, what are the things we are supposed to see under the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, that is academic qualifications of those members, employment records, profession affiliations, potential conflict of interest, knowledge of the relevant subject matter, overall suitability of the position, matters of tax compliance, integrity and morality, vision and leadership and expectations on the key priorities. These are the things that we asked the candidates or the nominees to answer prior to appearing before the Committee and also to be questioned individually when it comes to what they have done. I want to go immediately to the specific persons. We started vetting Mr. Nyaoga to be the Chairman and we were satisfied that he had the relevant academic qualification, having both Bachelors and Master of Law Degrees from the distinguished University of Nairobi, where I am also an alumni. We also looked at his employment record and professional affiliation. After looking at his employment record and professional affiliations, we have realized that he has been a member of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) from 1985; he has been a practising advocate who has chaired various institutions including the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Eco Bank, amongst others. We were also convinced that he was qualified because among his professional qualifications, he is a member of the Institute of Directors, the ICJ, the International Bar Association (IBA) and the Institute of Certified Secretaries (ICS) amongst others. So, when it comes to academic and professional qualifications, the Committee was satisfied that Mr. Nyaoga is qualified. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when it comes to appreciation of the Commission’s mandate, we were also convinced that from the manner in which he answered the questions, the nominee would withstand political pressure. He was not affiliated to a particular political grouping nor was he a member of a political party. Of course, we asked about his other affiliations and we were satisfied, first of all, that he appreciated the responsibility that is before him and that he was qualified. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we looked at matters of conflict of interest. The Committee even asked Mr. Nyaoga about the fact that his former partner is the Attorney- General and whether it was going to affect the manner in which he was going to perform his functions. We were again convinced, from his answer, that he was an advocate who was capable of acting independently because he has interacted with so many people across the political divide and he was level headed enough. He was also qualified to be a judge, as the law says and thus, he is also qualified to chair this Committee. We were also The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}