On Friday, 30/01/09, Justice Nyamu of Nairobi’s High Court sat to hear the landmark case brought by 17 Kenyans against the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) in which Kenyans are seeking orders that the PSC be declared unconstitutional along with the law that created it. Further, we want the High Court to order the recovery of all the money and other resources the PSC has squandered on Parliamentarians since 2003.

On Wednesday, December 10, 2008, the 17 Kenyans filed High Court Petition No. 769 of 2008, at the Nairobi Law Courts, requesting that the PSC be scrapped for violating the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya, and for flouting the republican ethics that prohibit public officials from using their offices for unjust enrichment and other forms of personal gain. 

Last week, (Wednesday, 21st January, 2009) when the case came before Justice Nyamu, it could not proceed because the PSC alleged they had not been properly served, since the court papers were delivered to their legal office instead of their clerk. Today, although the Attorney General (through whose office all bills are transformed into law and therefore had much to do with the passing of the contentious law) was ready to proceed, the PSC requested for leave of the court to instruct lawyers to appear in court on their behalf. The case has therefore been postponed to Thursday 12th February, 2009 to allow them to get legal representation.

The upshot of all this though is that we are definitely making positive progress. That the PSC is looking for legal representation and the AG is willing and ready to proceed, indicates that they acknowledge there is indeed a case to answer and that this is not a frivolous matter which can easily be dismissed on the face of things. Although our website (www.kejude.org) has been hacked into and redirected to a totally unrelated site (this has since been rectified), we urge our fellow Kenyans to remain vigilant despite these vicious tactics being used to threaten and intimidate.

The Speaker of the National Assembly has severally published Advertiser’s Announcements in the local media, stating that a parliamentary tribunal is to be set up to look into the matter of MPs remuneration. However, we disagree with the move to have parliamentarians review their own remuneration as they are obviously biased and it is a clear conflict of interest right from the beginning for whomever is proposed to occupy such a tribunal.

Fellow Kenyans, this is your opportunity to be part of fighting political impunity which is manifesting itself in all forms such as the refusal by the MPs to pay tax, their involvement in the maize and oil scandals, the elevation to cabinet positions of persons implicated in grand scandals and the repeated shielding by parliamentarians of partners in crime from investigation for corruption. This is set to be a landmark case and we therefore urge and invite you to be a part of it by signing up at www.kejude.org. Be a part of bringing positive change to Kenya for yourself and future Kenyans.

By George Nyongesa

Bunge la Mwananchi