Why Kibaki must tame his chief officers

On paper, President Kibaki takes the ultimate blame as Head of State for the impunity displayed by his closest advisors to the extent that they continue to turn up their noses at a High Court ruling.

Kibaki is, after all, the Head of Government. But his chief officers do not have to take a briefing from the President to implement court ruling.

Indeed, Kibaki has honoured court rulings in matters where one would think he has overriding interests, so why the disconnect?

What is obvious is that while Kibaki might respect the courts, his chief officers do not appear to be as generous or magnanimous in defeat.

delusions of grandeur

In the final years of founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s rule, a cabal of his close advisors had become so inebriated with delusions of grandeur that they declared themselves kingmakers and went ahead to plot his succession to ensure one of their own, who would take care of their interests, took over State House.

What is happening now might not be on that scale, but nevertheless a decision by the Ministry of Internal Security and its Permanent Secretary, Mutea Iringo, to defy a High Court ruling declaring the unilateral appointment 47 county commissioners by President Kibaki null and void, is a dangerous trend as the Head of State enters the final stretch of his 10-year rule.

Iringo answers to acting Internal Security minister Yusuf Haji as well as the Head of the Civil Service Francis Kimemia.

What is the compelling reason for their push to have these men and very few women occupy an illegal office?

What message is Kimemia, Iringo, and Haji sending out when they blatantly refuse to implement a court order to initiate de-gazetting of the appointments?

Are there two different Constitutions – one for those working in the Office of the President and the other for the rest of Government and Kenyans in general? That question looms as Kenyans grapple with the spectre of the most powerful office operating on the fringes of the law and stretching the truth to fit what might be vested interests.

Did they not swear to defend, serve and protect the Constitution of Kenya when they retook their oath of office following the Promulgation of the new Constitution in August 2010?

whose orders?

Is it not obvious, therefore, that when they defy a High Court declaring the appointments are unconstitutional, then they are breaking that very oath?

Do Iringo and Kimemia realise that the message they are sending out is that the Head of State, the very person that put them in office, has sanctioned them to break the law with impunity by insisting that they perpetuate an illegality?

We are not saying that Kibaki is breaking the law, but that is the impression created by keeping the commissioners in their new, but illegal, offices.

If the Government’s chief legal advisor, Attorney General Githu Muigai has accepted the High Court decision, why have the so-called commissioners not been redeployed?

CJ’s warning

Recently Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, irked by careless statements directed at members of the Bench following a ruling on the date of the General Election, warned that leaders must respect the courts even where they do not agree with its findings.

We agree and reiterate that respect for the separation of powers is the very essence of our democracy. In the past, those close to the highest seat of power believed it gave them a license to flout the Constitution.

This is a new era and Kenyans will not stand and watch as those entrusted with implementing the law behave as though they are above it. The county commissioners must go, and they must go now.