Abdikadir Mohammed was elected MP for the Mandera Central Constituency in 2007. A Harvard Law School graduate, he heads the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Reform
15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly:
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 âAâ level and she attended Lugulu ...
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15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly:
The next issue which was really one of the most highlighted issues as far as this particular candidate was concerned was the issue of moral character. There were very many allegations against the candidate. One was that the gentleman had married and separated and divorced a number of times. That he had a divorce petition pending in court and he would be the Chief Justice when there will be a divorce petition in the court; that he was an activist with extremely liberal views. That the ideals and principles of the nomineeâs current employer would negatively impact on his tenure ...
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15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly:
judicial experience, we agreed that she lacks judicial experience, but that was not a bar to her holding this post. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with respect to the nominee for the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), the queries were in four broad areas and I want to go through them. One, there were allegations dealing with four cases that this gentleman either handled or was accused of interfering or conflict of interest. Two, the CKRC and his relationship with the former Chairman of the CKRC, Prof. Yash Pal Ghai. Three, were very strange allegations that came to the Committee through ...
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15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly:
gentleman was, indeed, put on his defence and that it was the court that found later that there were no weighty issues. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Committee showed concern on this matter. The Committeeâs view was that while that may be so, it would have been best, this gentleman having been his former client, that we would have found it best, if, indeed, he had handed this matter over to an independent outside prosecutor in view of his involvement with his client before. On the issue of the succession case, the answer from the nominee was that his firm ...
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15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly:
were outside the CKRC. He also said that he had claimed unlawful funding when he had not done the work. In his opinion, this gentleman was unfit to hold this post. On this matter, we had several witnesses. One was another Commissioner of the CKRC, Commissioner Adagala who termed Prof. Ghaiâs views on Tobiko as hate speech. Her view was that the Commission had been divided right in the middle on political issues and that what Prof. Ghai was seeing was because he was on the other side of the political divide as far as the CKRC were concerned and ...
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15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly:
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is one critical issue about the process. This process is a very critical process for the people of Kenya. There are those who feel that we will be doing very many vetting. In fact, when I looked at Gaddo today, he called this a country the vetting nation; that every other minute there is some vetting going on somewhere in the country, whether it is the police vetting or vetting by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) or vetting by a Parliamentary Committee or all
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15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly:
manner of vetting. It is important and there is a Bill before this House on this issue. It is important that we get this right.
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15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly:
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, vetting must be thorough and accurate. It must be fair and structured. It is very important. If I was to read for you a comment by one of the commentators who was commenting on the hearings in the United States of America (USA) Congress, when Justice Clarence Thomas was being grilled--- The first black Justice in the USA Supreme Court was Justice Thurgood Marshall. He was, indeed a friend of Kenya and helped draft the first Constitution of this country. When he retired in 1991, the nominee to replace him was Clarence Thomas. When that matter ...
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15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly:
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we allow people to walk in from the streets and on national television, make every kind of allegations, is that fair? Are we interested in a blood spot or vetting for suitability? That is not to say that we should very strictly look into the lives and suitability of people who seek higher office, but it is very critical that basic regulations be in place; I am happy that there is a Bill before this House for this particular issue.
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15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly:
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, allow me to read to you the actual recommendations of the Committee. Following deliberations, the Committee resolved to take a vote through secret ballot in order to identify areas of consensus, and to determine the opinion of members on the suitability of the nominees for appointment to the respective offices. The results were as follows: Dr. Willy Mutunga as Chief Justice (CJ), 21 for him and two against him, absention - zero: total 23. This means Nancy M. Baraza as Deputy Chief Justice had 23 for her, against her, zero, and abstention, zero: total, 23. ...
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