GLANCE FACTS
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| Law Society of Kenya chairman Eric Mutua (right) when he addressed the press yesterday. With him is East Africa Law Society president James Aggrey Mwamu. [PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE/ STANDARD] |
KENYA: Lawyers have waded into the crisis at the Judiciary, warning the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) commissioners that they risk being sent packing if they do not resolve the stand-off with Chief Registrar Gladys Shollei.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Monday threatened to initiate the removal of the current JSC members if they don’t determine the fate of Shollei in one week.
LSK warned that public confidence in the Judiciary was at stake following damning revelations that Chief Justice Willy Mutunga’s close aides had hatched a plot, with his blessings, to oust Shollei.
The LSK Council gave the JSC a one-week ultimatum to decide whether or not to remove the Chief Registrar, failing which they would petition the President through the National Assembly for the removal of the commissioners.
Speaking after a council meeting, LSK chairman Eric Mutua said although it was clear that the JSC had committed acts of misconduct in the past few days, it was the only body that could legally determine whether to remove Mrs Shollei or let her carry on with her duties.
“In the event that there is no determination on this matter and the fighting continues, the LSK will take up its obligation to petition for the removal of the commissioners,” he added.
The Standard last week reported that a team hand-picked by the CJ had drafted a ‘war strategy’ aimed at giving Dr Mutunga absolute power by ousting Shollei.
The mission was revealed in a detailed, six-page document titled, “War Strategy: The 31-Point Plan”, in which Mutunga is advised to kick out Mrs Shollei in order to reassert his allegedly diminished role in the running of the Judiciary.
The Standard obtained several email correspondences between Mutunga and the four-person team.
But even as the LSK leadership demanded an end to the wrangling in the Judiciary, it asked the public to distinguish the latest fight between Mutunga’s camp and that of Shollei, from an ongoing disciplinary process instituted by the JSC against the Chief Registrar.
“This is hurting the Judiciary as an institution and should stop. If it does not the credibility and the integrity of the Judiciary will be severely affected,” Mutua told reporters at a Nairobi hotel. The LSK said if the JSC decided the fate of the Chief Registrar, she would have her right to challenge the decision of the JSC in court or to abide by the same.
Brainchild
Only then can the process of removing the current JSC members proceed without affecting the rest of the judicial functions.
The LSK said though other institutions, including the police, the Anti-Corruption and Ethics Commission and Parliament had a role to play in the investigations, it was only the JSC that could deal with the disciplinary process against Shollei.
“If she is demanding to have a public hearing, that should be granted to her as she is entitled to it. However, other people should not derail the process,” Mutua said.
The LSK is represented in the JSC by lawyers Ahmednassir Abdullahi and Florence Mwangangi.
The JSC has 11 members. Two of them, the CJ and the Attorney General are permanent members who cannot be removed as long as they hold their respective offices.
Mutunga’s inner cabinet drafted the plan at the Norfolk Hotel in a marathon overnight session on September 20.
According to the documents, the initiative is the brainchild of Duncan Okello, Prof Joel Ngugi, Dennis Kabaara and Kwamchetsi Makokha. Mr Kabaara and Mr Makokha are not formally employed by the Judiciary.
Mr Okello is the Chief of Staff in Mr Mutunga’s office while Prof Ngugi is the head of the Judiciary Transformation Secretariat and the director of the Judiciary Training Institute.
Mr Kabaara is a financial analyst in the same office, while Mr Makokha, a columnist in one of the local newspapers, is currently engaged as a communications consultant in the Office of the Chief Justice.
The War Strategy Plan states: “By the conclusion of these activities and implementation of these strategies, the single most important driver of resistance to Judiciary Transformation (“Darth Vader” or DV) shall have been removed.”
“Darth Vader”
“Darth Vader” is a monstrous character in the children’s movie, Star Wars and has been adopted by Mutunga’s kitchen cabinet as their nickname for Mrs Shollei, whom they claim has totally eclipsed Chief Justice Mutunga.
In the documents seen by The Standard, the four describe themselves as the “War Council” and the Chief Justice as its “Commander-in-Chief.”
The documents show that after initial prevarication, Mutunga signed off the plan via an email to the four on September 20, at 9:02 pm.
“As your commander in chief I say my generals, let us start the initial battles in this war. Let word go round those who we want to mobilise that the principle of the war has been accepted by the general,” reads his email.
The previous day, on September 19, he had indicated his readiness to accept the plan advanced by the four in an email he sent to Ngugi at 7:32 pm.
“Thank you for this war plan. I like its tone, angry, loyal, frustrated, but eyes on the prize, the transformation of the Judiciary. It is a great blueprint for battles ahead and I love it,” he said.
The strategy, the email exchanges suggest, has been weeks, if not months, in planning and seems to have crystallised during an evening meeting by the five on September 20, at Norfolk Hotel.
“I am frankly quite frustrated by your oft-repeated line that you are trying to protect the OCRJ (Office of the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary). Does the OCRJ ever protect you? Is your middle name “Fait Accompli”? You must wake up and smell the coffee,” wrote Ngugi on July 28.
Nyanza records highest HIV and Aids infections - report
Nyanza region has the highest prevalence of HIV and Aids infections in the country.
According to the Kenya Aids Indicator Survey 2012, Nyanza reported the highest rates of HIV and Aids infections amongst persons aged 15-64 years with 15.1 per cent while Eastern North had the lowest prevalence rate in the country at 2.1 per cent.
Other regions have recorded a significant drop in infections since the last KAIS report in 2007. Regions with substantial drops include the Coast region with a 47 per cent decrease, Nairobi 44 per cent and North and South Rift at 41 per cent.
Women between the ages of 15-64 years in both rural and urban areas were also more likely to be infected according to the report. In urban areas 8.0 per cent of men were infected compared to 5.1 per cent of men. While 6.2 per cent of rural women were infected compared to 3.9 per cent of rural men.
According to the Kenya Aids Indicator Survey 2012, Nyanza reported the highest rates of HIV and Aids infections amongst persons aged 15-64 years with 15.1 per cent while Eastern North had the lowest prevalence rate in the country at 2.1 per cent.
Other regions have recorded a significant drop in infections since the last KAIS report in 2007. Regions with substantial drops include the Coast region with a 47 per cent decrease, Nairobi 44 per cent and North and South Rift at 41 per cent.
Women between the ages of 15-64 years in both rural and urban areas were also more likely to be infected according to the report. In urban areas 8.0 per cent of men were infected compared to 5.1 per cent of men. While 6.2 per cent of rural women were infected compared to 3.9 per cent of rural men.
Nyanza records highest HIV and Aids infections - report
Nyanza region has the highest prevalence of HIV and Aids infections in the country.
According to the Kenya Aids Indicator Survey 2012, Nyanza reported the highest rates of HIV and Aids infections amongst persons aged 15-64 years with 15.1 per cent while Eastern North had the lowest prevalence rate in the country at 2.1 per cent.
Other regions have recorded a significant drop in infections since the last KAIS report in 2007. Regions with substantial drops include the Coast region with a 47 per cent decrease, Nairobi 44 per cent and North and South Rift at 41 per cent.
Women between the ages of 15-64 years in both rural and urban areas were also more likely to be infected according to the report. In urban areas 8.0 per cent of men were infected compared to 5.1 per cent of men. While 6.2 per cent of rural women were infected compared to 3.9 per cent of rural men.
According to the Kenya Aids Indicator Survey 2012, Nyanza reported the highest rates of HIV and Aids infections amongst persons aged 15-64 years with 15.1 per cent while Eastern North had the lowest prevalence rate in the country at 2.1 per cent.
Other regions have recorded a significant drop in infections since the last KAIS report in 2007. Regions with substantial drops include the Coast region with a 47 per cent decrease, Nairobi 44 per cent and North and South Rift at 41 per cent.
Women between the ages of 15-64 years in both rural and urban areas were also more likely to be infected according to the report. In urban areas 8.0 per cent of men were infected compared to 5.1 per cent of men. While 6.2 per cent of rural women were infected compared to 3.9 per cent of rural men.
Nyanza records highest HIV and Aids infections - report
Nyanza region has the highest prevalence of HIV and Aids infections in the country.
According to the Kenya Aids Indicator Survey 2012, Nyanza reported the highest rates of HIV and Aids infections amongst persons aged 15-64 years with 15.1 per cent while Eastern North had the lowest prevalence rate in the country at 2.1 per cent.
Other regions have recorded a significant drop in infections since the last KAIS report in 2007. Regions with substantial drops include the Coast region with a 47 per cent decrease, Nairobi 44 per cent and North and South Rift at 41 per cent.
Women between the ages of 15-64 years in both rural and urban areas were also more likely to be infected according to the report. In urban areas 8.0 per cent of men were infected compared to 5.1 per cent of men. While 6.2 per cent of rural women were infected compared to 3.9 per cent of rural men.
According to the Kenya Aids Indicator Survey 2012, Nyanza reported the highest rates of HIV and Aids infections amongst persons aged 15-64 years with 15.1 per cent while Eastern North had the lowest prevalence rate in the country at 2.1 per cent.
Other regions have recorded a significant drop in infections since the last KAIS report in 2007. Regions with substantial drops include the Coast region with a 47 per cent decrease, Nairobi 44 per cent and North and South Rift at 41 per cent.
Women between the ages of 15-64 years in both rural and urban areas were also more likely to be infected according to the report. In urban areas 8.0 per cent of men were infected compared to 5.1 per cent of men. While 6.2 per cent of rural women were infected compared to 3.9 per cent of rural men.
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