Rarieda Member of Parliament Otiende Amolo has apologized to the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) on behalf of all MP’s.
This follows an incident where Justice Mohamed Warsame was subjected to a re-vetting exercise by Parliamentary Vetting Committee notwithstanding the fact that he had been vetted and then approved by LSK.
Justice Warsame was recently re-elected as Court of Appeal representative to the Justice Service Commission (JSC).
Otiende made the remarks during the weekend when he noted that the LSK was the only body fully charged with evaluating whoever wanted to take-up leadership roles in the Justice Service Commision and that parliament had no such mandate whatsoever.
“It very unfortunate that the Legislature took-up such a role which is not granted by law. On behalf of MP’s, I apologize and we will look into this to see that the choice of the LSK is respected,” stated Otiende.
The actions by the vetting committee to screen Justice Warsame sparked an outcry especially from legal practitioners who termed it as a ploy by the executive to exercise its powers over the Judiciary which is supposed to be independent.
Legal Pundits have also expressed concern as they see the vetting move by politicians as a way of finding someone who will dance to their tune once in the JSC and therefore want use that chance to expel those they fear will be uncooperative.