Matemu breaks his long silence, declares he’s been vindicated

I ran the race, kept the faith and have been vindicated. This would be a declaration from Mr Mumo Matemu who, until slightly under two months ago, was the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) chairman.

Matemu, jobless because he was forced out of his well-paying job, is excited that one of the obstacles that stood in his way since his controversial appointment three years ago has finally been removed, albeit long after the horse had bolted out.

The suit by Trusted Society of Human Rights Alliance, a little known NGO, was contested all the way to the Supreme Court. Before the court case, his nomination had been dragged through comical twists and turns; rejected for want of “passion” one day but later approved on account of the phrase that “the proof of pudding is in the eating”.

On December 20, 2011, Parliament rejected a report of a committee chaired by Abdikadir Mohamed, now the President’s adviser on Constitution and Legal Affairs, which recommended rejection of Matemu.

Formally appointed

A few days later, former Speaker Kenneth Marende clarified that rejection of Abdikadir’s report on the floor of Parliament did not amount to approval of Matemu for the job. A few months later on May 10, 2012, Parliament unanimously endorsed him and he was formally appointed the following day on May 11, 2012.

On May 16, 2012, before he could swear the oath of office, the High Court halted his appointment following an application by Trusted Society and on September 20 of the same year, the same court quashed his appointment on grounds of lack of integrity.

He appealed the decision and won on July 26, 2013. Trusted Society appealed the decision at the Supreme Court even as Matemu assumed office at Integrity Centre on August 4, 2013. Barely two years later on May 12, Matemu resigned from the position after President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed a tribunal to probe him following recommendation by Parliament. EACC commissioners Jane Onsongo and Irene Keino had also quit.

A month later on June 24, Trusted Alliance withdrew the Supreme Court appeal in view of his resignation.

“I have finally been vindicated. I have kept the faith in the rule of law all through. I fought it all through as a matter of principle. It’s not my victory really, but a victory for those who believe in the rule of law,” Matemu told The Standard on Sunday in an interview on Friday.

On the day the petitioners applied to withdraw the case, Matemu had won over against an attempt by Katiba Institute, a constitution-making and implementation think-tank led by Prof Yash Pal Ghai to be enjoined in the appeal as amicus curiae (friends of the court).

Ghai’s institute would have joined the other two “friends of the court” in the matter; Kenya Human Rights Commission and International Commission of Jurists. “From the moment we succeeded in stopping Ghai, they were completely paralysed and opted to withdraw rather than proceed with what was baseless from the very start. They are the ones who went to court against me in the first instance. They are the ones who called it quits,” Matemu said.

In the Katiba Institute bid, the court held that Ghai’s team would not be impartial in the matter. The court also set out fresh parameters upon which applications for amicus status would be reviewed in future.

Amicus must be neutral and limit their brief to legal arguments. Amicus requests must be filed on time and should not address matters already addressed by litigants. Amicus are not entitled to costs, shall not participate in interlocutory applications and ought not to raise any suspicion of bias.

“Our evaluation of the submissions annexed to the amicus brief signals that the intended amicus curiae inclines towards sustaining the decision of the High Court to the detriment of the first respondent. A perception of bias beckons, when an ordinary litigant reads the submissions,” judges Njoki Ndung’u and Ibrahim Mohamed ruled.

The withdrawal of the suit by Trusted Society was not without a fight. Both ICJ and KHRC opposed the withdrawal but they were overruled on the basis of the new parameters for amicus set out earlier on that day.

Carried the day

“For us it was double victory although we had seen it coming. What obtains now is the ruling of the Court of Appeal and the points of law it set out because the case collapsed before the Supreme Court could pronounce itself on the matter. I must hasten to add that I carried the day,” Matemu said.

Matemu, who was speaking for the first time since his May resignation, said he resigned as a matter of principle and no enticement was thrown his way to sway him. He said he was as determined to fight the allegations against him as he fought the Trusted Society suit.

“I was not going to hold that office against all odds and against everyone including the Kenyan public. I decided to subordinate my individual rights for the good of the greater majority, otherwise I was ready to fight all the way,” he said. He said he realised the fight to clear his name would have been long-drawn like the court case, and would mean the EACC would stay without a substantive chair for a long time.

“I didn’t want to appear to be a hindrance in the fight. People were going to get an excuse if we chose to follow due process and say all manner of things. I wasn’t going to give them that advantage of saying I am the reason things were not moving, oh no, not me!” he said.

He said those “inhibiting” the fight against corruption were waiting with bated breath for him to submit himself to the judicial commission appointed to probe his suitability.

No promises

“There were no promises made to me. I wouldn’t resign on the basis of promises. That, in and of itself, is a form of corruption. I have served in public positions most of my life. I did not do so on the basis of any promises,” he said.

He said he is not interested in politics either, adding that a lot of people have “played out” his resignation in political terms and speculated that he could be joining politics in vengeance for what befell him. “I am afraid my emphatic answer to those offering such opportunities or spreading such rumours is an emphatic no. I am not and I will never join politics least of all under these circumstances,” he said.

So, what next for the man who walked into Integrity Centre conscious of all the existing landmines but still ended up being blown off?

“I want you to read my lips on this one. The opportunities offered by life are inexhaustible especially to those who remain prudent, keep the faith alive and remain focused. I have not lost anything,” he said.