- Chairperson Kajuju says the commission has only 83 staff members against an approved size of 292.
- She says the requested change arose from the Supreme Court decision that ruled that its recommendations are not binding
Image: ANDREW KASUKU
The Commission on Administrative Justice wants Parliament to amend the law to help it effectively rein in rogue state officers and institutions meting out injustices to Kenyans.
The ombudswoman on Wednesday decried that most of its decisions—including recommendations to deal with state officers implicated in major injustices such as land grab—have not been enforceable because of weak laws.
“There is a need to fast-track strengthening of the legal and regulatory framework for the commission to play its oversight role effectively. This should include making the decisions of the commission binding,” chairperson Florence Kajuju said.
She was appearing before the Senate Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee chaired by Okong’o Omogeni (Nyamira). She said many state officials and public institutions, including ministries, continue to ignore their recommendations.
Kajuju cited the case of former Governor Ferdinand Waitutu whom the commission indicted for forcibly taking a parcel from a woman in Kiambu.
“If it was not for the Senate that helped us in the decision we made in the former Governor Waititu’s case, then that impeachment could not have happened. We could have just made our observations on the abuse office and that would have hit a dead end,” Kajuju said.
Kajuju also cited the National Land Commission that has failed to comply with its decision despite several cases filed against it relating to the delay in land compensation.
The Ministry of Lands, the National Police Service, public universities and the Pensions Department are some of the institutions that have ignored recommendations of the Ombudsperson.
“We have proposed an amendment to the Commission on Administrative Justice Act so that we can have biting powers. We think that through Parliament, we can amend the CAJ Act and be able to get binding powers,” Kajuju said.
The proposal arose from the Supreme Court decision that ruled that the CAJ recommendations are not binding as the same is not expressly provided for in the CAJ Act.
In that case, Judah Abeka had filed a complaint with the commission after the Vision 2030 Secretariat Board failed to renew his contract as director.
The CAJ recommended that the board pay Abeka 12 months' salary and facilitate his access to personal effects in his former office.
But the board declined, prompting Abeka to move to the High Court. The court ruled against him and he proceeded to the Court Appeal where he secured a favourable judgment.
The board appealed against the ruling in the Supreme Court, which concluded that the recommendation of the commission was not binding as it was not provided for in law.
In her submission to senators, Kajuju also decried financial constraints, inadequate staff, and failure by some public institutions to automate their records to enhance access to information. She said such problems have hampered their work.
Kajuju disclosed that the commission had only 83 staff members against an approved size of 292.
The commission is expected to handle numerous cases it receives every year. Between July and December last year, it received 1,381 complaints.
Some 500 of them were resolved and closed, 38 were referred to relevant public institutions, while 795 cases are under investigation.
“Most of the complaints were on maladministration – inefficiency, oppressive official conduct, incompetence, manifest injustice, delay, abuse of power, unfair treatment and misbehaviour,” she said.
Besides the head office in Nairobi, the CAJ has established branches in Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret and Isiolo. The establishment of two offices in Garissa and Nyahururu is at an advanced stage.
“We have captured decentralisation of the Ombudsman services as one of the priorities in our strategic plan covering the period 2019-23,” she said.
Edited by F'Orieny