Puppet on a string?

Has President Kibaki handed Eugene Wamalwa a poisoned chalice? The justice docket has felled more capable politicians than the young Mr Wamalwa. Charles Njonjo so enjoyed the power that came from the docket that when President Moi finally shoved him out of the Cabinet he could only lament about the vicissitudes of the political arena, staying out for a decade until FORD offered him a chance at redemption. Kiraitu Murungi proved once more, that legal skills are not the be-all-and-end-all of the capable politician, getting turfed out, albeit temporarily, from the Cabinet over the Anglo-Leasing scam. Martha Karua, after playing one of Mwai Kibaki's staunchest defenders, stomped out of the docket and Cabinet after Mwai Kibaki reminded her that she was not the chief lawyer for the government; that job is and remains that of the Attorney-General. Mutula Kilonzo seems not to have learnt from the travails of his predecessors, openly disagreeing with his colleagues over whether Uhurua Kenyatta could stand for the presidency at the next general elections. For his trouble, rather than being shown the door, he has been moved to that snake-pit that is Jogoo House as the new Minister for Education. Now it is for the relative neophyte, Eugene Wamalwa, to occupy what is arguably an accursed docket. On his way out Mutula Kilonzo could not help but cheekily remind Eugene Wamalwa that the docket is not his to do as he pleases, but that it has its own "owners" and that he would be dancing to their tune or be shown the door.

Mr Wamalwa assures us that as a lawyer and a lawmaker his fidelity is to the law. This is an assurance that is set to be tested as Kenya engages with the International Criminal Court over the imminent trial of Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto, Francis Muthaura and Joshua arap Sang. Even the Attorney-General's panel of eminent lawyers has advised the Government that the State has no choice but to co-operate fully with the Court over the trial of the four Kenyans. Mr Wamalwa has identified himself with the Gang of Seven whose leading lights include Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, both of whom have expressed an interest in standing for the presidency at the next general elections. It remains to be seen whether the real reason he has been elevated to the justice docket is so that he can use his legal skills, such as they may be, to ensure that Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto weasel out of the clutches of the ICC Prosecutor for the Ministry oversees a great deal more than Kenya's engagement with the ICC.

The Justice docket is responsible for the smooth implementation of the Constitution, the proper functioning of constitutional commissions such as the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, the Gender and Equality Commission, and the Commission on Administration of Justice. It is also responsible for the smooth operation of the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission, whose appointment has been held up because the National Assembly is divided over the names of the nominees sent to it by the President and Prime Minister. Before he was sent to the education docket, Mr Kilonzo had drafted a law for the implementation of Chapter Six of the Constitution on leadership and integrity. Even with his political and legal skills, Mr Kilonzo was not sure whether the Bill would survive mutilation at the hands of the members of the National Assembly. It remains, again, to be seen whether Eugene Wamalwa has the moxie to get it through Parliament without it being defaced and watered down.

Mr Wamalwa has displayed a worrying lack of judgment in his political engagements, flitting from one association to another before running with the Gang of Seven as an "equal". Simama Kenya, which he was closely associated with proved to be a bust. His association with Maina Njenga, the feared former leader of the Mungiki, raised more questions than answers. A rally that the two intended to headline was violently broken up by the police. It is his continued association with the Gang of Seven that displays his lack of political maturity. It seems, and no matter how much they deny it, that the principal reason for the existence of the Gang of Seven is the prevention of the Prime Minister from succeeding Mwai Kibaki as president at the next general elections. The Gang has spent more time trying to link the PM to the travails of two of its leading lights than any other association in Kenya. They have spread lies, usually at 'prayer rallies', that the PM is to blame for the two being charged at the ICC glossing over the fact that both the PM and the President begged them to ensure that trials for the PEV be conducted in Kenya. In all this Mr Wamalwa has been complicit. It gives the lie to his assurance of fidelity to the law. How he conducts himself as the Minister for Justice will determine whether Mr Wamalwa is his own man or a puppet in a string.