Westgate aftermath: Peter Simani leaves a rich legacy

By STEPHEN MAKABILA  

Fallen Political Parties Dispute Tribunal chairman Peter Simani once said: “We are acutely aware of the need to encourage, preserve and strengthen political parties and further to ensure the Registrar of Political Parties’ office acts strictly in accordance with the law. Political parties are the vehicles through which the people of this country will freely participate and enjoy the political freedoms enshrined in Article 38 of our Constitution.”

He went on: “In our humble view, the interests of democracy and the spirit of Article 38 of the Constitution of Kenya demands that political rights must be given effect and the same should not be limited by administrative strictures which may be well meaning but have the ultimate effect of limiting rights under this Article.’

Those were Simani’s words while rendering a decision in Ford-Asili versus the Registrar of Political Parties, Appeal No 3 of 2012. But as fate would have it, Simani was among those who perished in the Westgate Mall terror attack last Saturday.

Lawyer Chacha Odera, a partner with Oraro and Company Advocates, who has been a member of the tribunal alongside Simani and the Rev Jessie Mutura, describes the late  as a dedicated Kenyan who build the tribunal from scratch after their swearing in on January 7, 2011.

“I have not only lost a workmate, but a good friend and former schoolmate at Lenana in the 1970s, who provided leadership for the tribunal since January 2011,” says Odera, who is working on Simani’s eulogy.

Article 39 of the Political Parties Act establishes the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal consisting of a chairperson qualified to be a judge of High Court, and four other members, one of whom is supposed to be an advocate of the High Court.

A quasi-judicial body, the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal was created by the Political Parties Act (2007, 5,6) to hear appeals against decisions made by the Registrar of Political Parties and to rule on disputes between members of a party or between members of a coalition.

The procedural rules governing its work are determined by the Chief Justice (Political Parties Act 2007, 8).

The decisions of the tribunal must be rendered within three months of the lodging of a dispute and its decisions are final. Odera says when they were sworn-in by former Chief Justice Evan Gicheru, they had no office to operate from or a staff complement for them.

“Simani had to take it his responsibility to be pleading with the Registrar of Political Parties to offer us her boardroom whenever we had a case to handle. He also brought in two law students from the University of Nairobi, who assisted us with work while he provided them with some pocket money,” says Odera.

       High number of cases

He says the greatest challenge was during the nominations ahead of the March 4 General Election, when the number of cases before the tribunal shot up.

“While the Constitution requires us to wind up a case before the tribunal in 90 days, Simani ensured we worked into the night most of the time to complete what was before us in good time. As I speak today, all that was before us has been deliberated on and he has not left any dispute unresolved,” added Odera.

ODM Executive Director Magerer Langat says Simani played an integral role in political parties’ development through his mediation skills.

“As we mourn him, we as a political party hope when the time for his replacement comes, all parties will be involved to get someone to match his high level of neutrality,” added Magerer.

But who was Simani outside the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal Circles? He was a senior partner and proprietor of Simani and Associates, a private law firm providing consultancy and legal services in criminal, civil, commercial litigation and the aviation industry. He consulted extensively for the major aviation companies largely on matters relating to registration and establishment of air operations, licensing, processing of insurance claims, syndication and financing of the purchase and leasing of commercial aircraft.

Simani was also on the panel of major local banks and insurance companies in commercial and intellectual property issues.

He has also consulted for Kenya Civil Aviation Authority largely in drafting and promulgation of the Kenya Civil Aviation Licensing Regulations and in development of standards and guidance material for improvement of the consumer protection. Simani held a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nairobi, Diploma of Law from Kenya School of Law and a certificate of proficiency in French.