THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW

I feel I should be writing a requiem for Kenya's parliament.
It might not be flattering, but the debate over President Mwai Kibaki's decision to reappoint Justice Aaron Ringera as head of the country's anti-corruption commission (KACC) has really exposed the extent to which this elected body -- flawed though it may be -- has been sidelined and rendered essentially impotent. Many MPs believe Ringera's re-appointment to be illegal because Kibaki acted without consulting Parliament and the KACC advisory board, but it is unclear whether they will even be allowed to debate the issue on substance.
Ringera has been criticised by many Kenyans for failing to bring down those believed to
be behind the Anglo Leasing scandal, in which sham companies sought to siphon off billions of Kenyan shillings. Check out Michaela Wrong's book "It's Our Turn to Eat" for a fairly chilling account of Ringera's role in warning off then anti-graft czar John Githongo who was investigating Kenya's biggest financial scandal.
On Thursday, parliament speaker Kenneth Marende will rule on whether Parliament can discuss a report that has already declared the re-appointment of Ringera and two of his assistants illegal. In the preceding debate, it was clear MPs had a real sense of helplessness.
"We have been at the mercy of the Executive and that of the Judiciary for a very long time; unless this honourable House claims its space, this country has no future," said Mr Mutava Musyimi, the MP from Gachoka MP (PNU).
Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo told parliament that discussing the report would be illegal, since there is a court case pending against the re-appointment. Former Justice Minister Martha Karua pointed out that if this stood it meant that, faced with a difficult or embarrassing debate on any subject, the government could find a "crony or hireling" to launch a court case and essentially shut down parliament.
"By reappointing Ringera, Kibaki has basically shot himself in the foot, further weakening his government. It's like putting a red rag in front of a bull, with the bull being parliament and the public," said political commentator Robert Shaw.
I'm not sure that worries Kibaki though.
He must have known this decision would draw some flak, to say the least. But he did it anyway. It is either incredible chutzpah or a somewhat worrying nonchalance about public and international opinion.
Speaking of which, Kibaki's decision was criticised by the U.S. administration, and this drew a sharp rebuke from the government in Nairobi. Outspoken U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneburger said the KACC had done a poor job under Ringera and faulted Kibaki for reappointing him. Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula retorted that the Kenyan Government "considers the statement objectionable, in bad taste and an affront to the Head of State to whom it is accredited in appointing Justice Ringera as Director of the KACC."
"The ministry further takes great exception to the tone of the Embassy’s statement which casts aspersions on the Government’s commitment to fight corruption and end impunity," he said in a two-page letter to the embassy.
Just a minor diplomatic spat, all words no action? Maybe, but the United States has been steadily chipping away at Kenya's coalition government, which it believes is failing to deliver on promised reforms. Having the world's superpower breathing down your neck cannot be comfortable for Kenyan authorities and the Obama administration shows no sign in letting up the pressure. Something to bear in mind as Kenya faces the potential prospect of embarrasing trials at the International Criminal Court over deadly post-election violence in 2007/8.
And then came a political twist. On Tuesday, Kenya's top cop -- police commissioner Major General Hussein Ali -- was removed from his duties to become Postmaster General. Ali had been under pressure since February when a report by U.N. rapporteur Philip Alston said he should be sacked because of abuses by his forces, particularly during the post-election violence. Kenya's police have long been accused of extra-judicial killings, torture and corruption -- all charges the force has denied. But nothing happened until now. It is the timing of Kibaki's decision to remove Ali that had most Kenyans talking, coming as it did in the middle of the intense public and political debate over the Ringera decision.
And some are unimpressed.
"I think the changes are another slap in the face. You do not reward a police commissioner whose force has been implicated in human-rights violations with a new appointment. You charge the person," Kenya Human Rights Commission Executive Director Wanyeki Muthoni said. "Reforms have to start with the possibility of accountability, internally and externally. Everything else, although necessary, will not change the culture of policing in this country, which is what we fundamentally want," she said.
Ali has been replaced by Mathew Kirai Iteere, the Israeli-trained former commandant of the police's paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU), a unit loyal to the presidency whose record is not exactly squeaky clean. The challenges facing Iteere are well laid out in this article from the Daily Nation. Not mentioned is the fact that the Kenyan police force was rated East Africa's most corrupt public institution in a recent survey by Transparency International.
For an alternative view of Ali's record, check out this article, which praises him for doing his best to reform an institution that can only become truly effective when other political, social and economic problems in Kenyan society are addressed.
Having an impotent, frustrated and flawed parliament is not going to help.
Go raibh maith agat, Daithi