Skip to main content

Is AG Prof. Githu on the Path to Sycophancy like Wako his Predecessor?!?!

Courtesy of The Standard


There have been several complaints especially from civil society against the recently appointed Attorney General. Indeed, blogosphere and the media are awash with news about complaints by the civil society about the AG’s sudden change to become an alleged defender against that which is against public interest. This is as a result of, first, the failed appeal against the controversial Justice Ombija decision issuing warrants against the Sudanese President Mr. El Bashir where the AG chest-thumping insisted on the illegality of the decision and promised to appeal the decision saying that the President was immune from prosecution. Second was a recent announcement by the AG that the State would cover the defense costs of the ‘Ocampo 6’– persons accused of being the main perpetrators of the 2007/2008 post election violence, and who are currently anxiously awaiting the verdict of the International Criminal Court, which is set to decide in the next month whether the charges against the accused will be confirmed therefore committing them to full trial. Third, is as a result of the recent spat or so-called turf war that pitted the AG against the Chair of the Constitutional Implementation Commission.

Quoting the “STAR” newspaper, civil society “seem to believe that the AG has been 'excessively' been defending the Executive and are worried that the eloquent former Law professor might end up to be a carbon copy of his predecessor Amos "the Smiling AG' Wako!”

It important at this point to first relook the exact role of the AG as outlined in the Constitution. Article 156 establishes the office of the Attorney general as an independent office – acting as the principal legal advisor to the government, represent the national government in court or in any other legal proceedings to which the national government is a party, and shall perform other functions as conferred to the office by an Act of parliament or by the President (Article 156 (4). Another very important feature that is in line with the spirit of the constitution is the fact that the AG shall promote, protect and uphold the rule of law and defend public interest.

Looking at the few months that Prof. Githu has been in office, I tend to side with him as a legal advisor to government and its official legal representative in filing an appeal against a decision in which the government clearly has interest. Further, the spat, tough unnecessary, recently witnessed between him and Mr. Nyachae the CIC chair is in my opinion normal. History is rife with many episodes all over the world where Constitutional office holders have had such turf wars. The difference between the many witnessed turf wars has been how these have been handled eventually. The spirit of the implementation of the constitution calls for a lot of cooperation and concerted effort from all stake holders to drive the process. Neither the CIC nor the office of the AG has exclusive capacity to fully drive the process. The moment such spats turn to be impediments and complete obstacles to the implementation process, then it becomes a problem.

However, where the AG goes wrong in my opinion is closely related to the spirit mentioned above that ought to guide him in the exercise of his functions. Announcing support to the defence of persons who have been individually accused in their personal capacities for bearing greatest responsibility for the post election violence goes against this spirit. A continuous war of words with the CIC, which threatens to derail the implementation process, to the extent of referring the CIC as being too temporary to deserve his respect and time is also against the spirit.

We appreciate the kind of pressure that comes with being appointed with impeccable credentials, from the civil society i.e. The Law Society of Kenya, and joining a government that cares little about public opinion and outcry as its principal defender. The El Bashir case comes out as one such issue. Public Interest has been for a long time in support of the ICC process and this is something the AG is fully aware of. However, considering the fact that as a lawyer for government he takes instructions and litigates on its behalf however absurd the issues may be, this certainly posses a great challenge to the integrity of Prof. Githu Muigai the man – if at all we are sure where his loyalties lie.

Something that ought to be pointed out to the AG is that there have been many examples of persons who even while in governments with ridiculous policies, some very autocratic, have stood out as persons of integrity and gained a lot of respect even while still in the same governments. The beauty of having an independent office is the ability to make decisions fully backed by the Constitution, as opposed to conforming at the expense of personal integrity and public interest.

The former AG Mr. Amos Wako was on many occasions accused of sycophancy due to his stances that faced thorough criticism from the civil society and public at large. His ability to serve successive governments and survive where many of his colleagues failed was credited to his ability to “Kiss Ass” (forgive my language). However even he, in whom we had no faith at all stood up against status quo during the unconstitutional nominations of CJ, AG and DPP by President Kibaki. Indeed they say that when swimming in the ocean you cannot be afraid of the rain and this may probably have driven Wako to oppose the President (the fact that his time was up). However, whatever the reasons, it goes down in history that Amos Wako, then Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya, stood up and defended the constitution and public interest when all desperately needed him and the office he represented to do so.  
What say you Mr. Hon. Attorney General?!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Madaraka Day @49 – What Exactly Does Attaining Self Rule Mean?

Courtesy of The Daily Nation The Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (adopted 14 th December, 1960) says the following about the importance of Independence; “ The General Assembly, Mindful of the determination proclaimed by the peoples of the world in the Charter of the United Nations to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, Convinced that all peoples have an inalienable right to complete freedom, the exercise of their sovereignty and the integrity of their national territory… .” The Preamble to the Constitution of Kenya 2010 says; “ We the people of Kenya – Honouring those who heroically struggled to bring freedom and justice to our land: Exercising our sovereign and inalienable right to determine the form of governance ...

LATEST COURT OF APPEAL APPOINTMENTS - Kudos JSC!!

Once again the JSC is 'on-point' in its latest appointment of 7 new judges of the Court of Appeal. The ration of appointments is clearly in favour of the women i.e. 5 out of the 7 are women. This follows the earlier appointment of 28 new judges of the High Court 13 of whom were women. Indeed, the Court of Appeal has been largely identified with a perpetual delay in the administration with many calling upon it to work at changing its public image. Indeed, the Justice William Ouko led Task force report not only only found that there were vacancies at the court of appeal (11 instead of the then 14 allowed) but even out of the 11 judges, there was no woman judge at the Court of Appeal. The Constitution of Kenya, as a result of a reflection on some of these grave inequities and disparities is very clear on the issue of gender representation at all levels of and in all arms of government. Whether a woman judge matters can be seen from some reflections in this rather short, simple...

THE “HOUSE OF TERROR” – Reflections….

The "House of Terror" - Budapest, 1062 Andrassy ut 60 So today I finally got to visit the ‘House of Terror’ one of those places you certainly ought to visit if you ever pass by Budapest, Hungary! It is described as a museum that commemorates the victims of terror as well as a reminder of the dreadful acts of terror carried out by ‘victimizers’. The building, and the museum inside are a vivid, impressive recreation of different periods of Hungarian history that the country has tried to move on from albeit painfully. The Different sections of the Museum that begins with a hallway full of victims, then instruments of torture, actual cells, gallows and a morgue, witness accounts displayed on screens and pictures that tell a thousand words all bear testimony to the atrocities witnessed and meted. The building housed the Hungarian Nazis in the early 1940’s and later a residence of the AVO and subsequently the AVH who are known to have participated in the worst forms of crimes agai...