Kibaki appoints Justice Visram as CJ, Prof Muigai AG

Business

By STANDARD TEAM

President Kibaki has nominated Justice Alnashir Visram to the position of Chief Justice amid a standoff with Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

President Kibaki also nominated Prof Githu Muigai as Attorney General and Kioko Kilukumi Director of Public Prosecutions.

Kibaki appoints Prof. Githu Muigai as the new Attorney General [Photo File/Standard]

A dispatch from PPS stated that the President after consultation with the Prime Minister Raila Odinga also appointed William Kirwa as Controller of Budget.

President Kibaki made the key appointments in the judiciary, barely one hour after Kenya set in motion the process of deferral of cases filed against six of its citizens at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The timing of the appointment of the new Chief Justice (CJ), the Attorney General (AG) and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is calculated to convince the international community about Kenya’s commitment to judicial reforms.

It has been argued that the ICC should handle the cases because the country lacks a credible judicial capable of dispensing justice.

Just before the release of the names from State House by Presidential Press Service, Lands Minister James Orengo, a close ally of the Prime Minister called journalists to his office to protest that Raila was not consulted in the nominations.

 

Impending appointments

Orengo urged the President to embrace consultations and claimed that the Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura had confirmed the nomination of Justice Visram as the Chief Justice, with Githu Muigai as the Attorney General and Kioko Kilukumi as the Director of Public Prosecution.

"I have been forced to call this press conference at this hour in regard to the impending appointments to various institutions of the Government," said Orengo at 8.30 PM on Friday.

He said ODM was equally taken by surprise with the appointment of Major General Michael Gichangi as the Director General of the National Security Intelligence Service last week.

He said: "The Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura called PM’s Permanent Secretary Dr Mohammed Isahakia this afternoon to tell him about the appointments saying they were supposed to be announced anytime, but we are not going to accept them because there was no consultations and the PM who is in Ethiopia attending AU Summit meeting is not aware."

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