Out goes Attorney General Githu Muigai, the chief legal
adviser to the President on issues to do with the Judiciary, reforms, and even
the ongoing crackdown on NASA over the swearing-in of Raila Odinga. President
Uhuru Kenyatta has nominated Judge Paul Kihara Kariuki to replace him.
Also replaced is Abdikadir Mohamed, the President's adviser
on constitutional matters. Mohamed is now the country’s new ambassador to South
Korea.
The changes followed the exit of former State House
Comptroller Lawrence Lenayapa, now Kenya's ambassador to The Netherlands.
Joining the legal wing of the presidency is Solicitor General Njee Muturi.
Uhuru’s lawyer, Ken Ogeto, becomes solicitor general, replacing Muturi, who has
been appointed State House deputy chief of staff. Prof Muigai's strained
relations with Muturi and his impatience on how he was treated and bypassed
could have motivated his decision to leave the Government.
The resignation of Muigai did not come as a surprise to many
following years of what was seen as power struggle pitting him against Muturi,
who was seen as the substantive boss at the State Law Office.
A source close to happenings at State House revealed to The
Standard that Muigai, a law scholar of high repute, had expressed his
intentions to leave the office long before the run-up to last year's General
Election, citing the pressure that came with the office.
The source said constant criticism, including from some
powerful quarters within the Jubilee administration over his advice to the
President as the chief legal government adviser, had piled pressure on Muigai
resulting in his decision to quit office.
On the other hand, although many consider Muturi’s removal
from the State Law Office to State House as a demotion, others may see it as a
promotion as he will be working directly under the President. He will deputise,
Nzioka Waita, who assumed the role of chief of staff last month after the
President scrapped the role of head of civil service.
Before his appointment as solicitor general in 2013, Muturi
had not worked in any prominent organisation of the Government outside being a
personal assistant of President Uhuru Kenyatta from his time as Kanu chairman.
The nomination of Justice Kihara Kariuki to be the
President’s legal adviser also did not come as a surprise, with many in the
Judiciary and legal fraternity saying the impending appointment was an open
secret within the corridors of justice.
The judge is expected to play an integral role in advising
the President on matters law and perhaps doing the State bidding on legal
issues both locally and internationally.
He will also represent the President at the Judicial Service
Commission (JSC). Among the pending issues is the threat by his predecessor to
charge NASA leader Raila Odinga with treason following his January 30 oath as
the 'people’s president'. On his part, Ogeto has played a prominent role as the
President’s personal lawyer, having been among those who represented the Head
of State at the International Criminal Court over the 2007/08 post-election
violence.
The case was later dropped. He also served as one of the
chief agents for Jubilee Party alongside former Cabinet secretary Davis
Chirchir during the 2013 and 2017 General Election. Justice Kariuki and Ogeto
are now awaiting parliamentary approval before being formally appointed to take
up their new positions.
Earlier yesterday, Uhuru nominated former Kenyatta
University vice chancellor Olive Mugenda and former Agriculture CS Felix Koskei
as representatives of the public to the JSC alongside former National Assembly
clerk Patrick Gichohi. Gichohi takes the place of outgoing PSC chairperson
Margaret Kobia, who has been nominated to the Cabinet, while Prof Mugenda
replaces Winnie Guchu, who resigned last year to spearhead Uhuru’s re-election
campaign.
Koskei replaces Kipng’etich arap Korir Bett. The nomination
is a reprieve for Koskei, a close associate of Deputy President William Ruto,
who to resigned in March 2015 from the Cabinet over corruption allegations.
EACC has since cleared him.
CREDIT:standardmedia
