The parliamentary Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) has recommended the approval of three individuals to sit in the Commission on Administrative of Justice.
Lawyer Otiende Amollo, Regina Mwatha Gathoni and Sadia Abdikadir Mohammed got the green light from the 27-member committee to serve in the commission.
Otiende, a former member of the Committee of Experts (CoE) that drafted the country’s Constitution, will chair the commission charged with handling public complaints.
The commission shall replace the Public Complaints Standing Committee, also known as the Ombudsman.
Ms Gathoni was chairperson of the former National Gender Commission and is a former lecturer at the Kenyatta University.
Ms Mohamed is involved in the alleviation of poverty programmes in the arid and semi-arid areas.
Once one is nominated a commissioner, he is not supposed to engage in gainful employment and Otiende said he would resign from any other engagements if Parliament approves his nomination. COIC is set to present its report today for approval by Parliament before the President can make formal appointments.
Major step
"I will not get involved in all other positions and resign from them henceforth," Otiende, whose firm Rachier and Amollo Advocates has represented many MPs, including the Prime Minister, his two deputies, and the Vice-President, told the committee. He is also the chairman of Action Aid.
During the vetting, committee member and Kasarani MP Elizabeth Ongoro sat as an observer given her relations with Otiende. The two are siblings. "Because of the possible conflict, I wish to disqualify myself and sit as an observer," Ongoro told the CIOC Chairman and Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohammed.
Perception issues of ineffectiveness have dotted the Public Complaints Committee and Keiyo North MP Lucas Chepkitony sought to know how Otiende would deal with this.
In response, the lawyer explained that isolating the mandate of the commission from that of the Human Rights and Equality Commission and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission would be a major step in making the commission effective.
—Stories by Peter Opiyo, Steven Mkawale and Alex Ndegwa
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join