An influential group of
lawyers in Kenya says President Mwai Kibaki has taken a number of
actions recently that violate court orders. President Kibaki's
move to grant land titles to displaced communities in the Rift
Valley is under fire.
| The
law society of Kenya says the President Mwai Kibaki set a
bad precedent when he issued land titles to members of the
Ogiek community of the Rift Valley Province this past
weekend despite a court order barring the action.
"Clearly the latest
spate of disobedience is most unfortunate because it comes
from the highest office, the president, and I think that
where a court has stopped a specific act a person like a
president should not be seen to defy that act by proceeding
to issue title deeds," said Tom Ojienda, Chairman of
the Law Society of Kenya. "It is the highest disregard
of the authority of the judiciary coming from the holder of
the highest office of the executive. It is the most
unfortunate thing to happen in this country." |
Mwai
Kibaki |
The Ogiek are a community of about
25,000 people scattered all over East Africa with the majority
living in the forest areas of the Rift Valley. The Ogiek found
themselves in trouble with the government last year when the newly
elected National Rainbow coalition government of President Kibaki
ordered people living in government forests to vacate.
While issuing the land titles to
the Ogiek Saturday President Kibaki said it is an inalienable
right for all Kenyans who own property to be issued with titles.
This is the second time the Mr.
Kibaki has come under fire for allegedly violating a court ruling.
Last week, a local council defied a court order to take over the
management of a game park from wildlife conservation groups after
President Kibaki awarded the local council the management of the
park.
Mr. Ojienda says such violations of
the law by the president and members of his cabinet can only be
seen as attempts to lure votes in a national referendum on a new
constitution that will take place next month.
"The main reason that the
titles were issued to the Ogiek is clearly the referendum,"
he said. "I think the political considerations unfortunately
are weighing top heavy on legal considerations. A lot of politics
are taken the center point of activities of the NARC government
and I think for the time being they have ignored the law. They
gave out Amboseli park the other day merely because of the
referendum. Clearly the law cannot be sacrificed at the alter of
the referendum."
While President Kibaki has been
campaigning, public opinion is divided on how to revamp the
country's colonial-era constitution. Key issues include the
importance of increasing the clout of the Parliament and the
necessity of shifting power from here, the capital, to the
outlying provinces.
Government spokesman Alfred Mutua
told VOA the government had no comment on the accusations by the
Law Society of Kenya.
