Several Diaspora organizations today presented a petition to the Government of
Kenya through the Minister for Foreign Affairs seeking their rightful inclusion
in all matters of national importance. The petition, signed by 5 Diaspora and
Diaspora-centred groups including Diaspora Movement of Kenya (DMK), Kenya
Community Abroad (KCA), Kenyans for Change (K4C), Kenya Global Unity (KGU) and
New Vision Kenya (NVK-Mageuzi), together among them representing more than 90%
of Kenyans belonging to recognized, registered global associations was received
on the behalf of the Acting Minister Prof. George Saitoti by the Substantive
Assistant Minister, Hon. Richard Moima Onyonka, among other senior Ministry and
government officials, including an officer from the Government Communications
Office in the Presidency.
The open petition, addressed to the entire leadership of the Republic beginning
with H.E. the President, Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, H.E. the Vice President,
Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Justice Minister, the Chief Justice, etc,
is also copied to All Hon. Members of Parliament and Media Houses. It stipulates
the growing importance of Diaspora contribution to our socio-economic,
technological and cultural development as a people, noting that more than 3
million Kenyans are presently domiciled beyond our borders, remitting into the
country in excess of KShs 150 billion (US$ 1.8 billion) into the economy every
year according to official figures, way above what any donors or sector of the
economy (agriculture or tourism included) brings in terms of foreign exchange,
yet the place of Diaspora is yet to be appropriately recognized and anchored.
The group, led by NVK-M’s Convenor, Dr Shem Ochuodho, KCA’s Outgoing President,
Mr Gichane Muraguri, and K4C’s Global Treasurer, Mr Peter Arasa and including
representatives from nearly all the world’s 5 continents – North America,
Europe, Asia (including the Pacific), Middle East and Africa – highlighted five
major issues requiring urgent government intervention, namely:-
1. Immediate arrangements by the Interim Independent Electoral Commission of
Kenya (IIECK) to seek ways of registering Kenyan Diaspora in next year’s general
elections either by declaring embassies and consulates as polling centres, or
even better by introducing electronic and online voting (e-voting). The group
recognized that in a court ruling during the recent constitutional referendum,
the IIECK and other relevant arms of government were actually directed to do
this;
2. Involvement of eligible Diaspora in strategic national commissions and
committees, including the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the Constitutional
and Legal Reforms Implementation and Monitoring Committees, and other existing
and future trade, economic, scientific, cultural and professional committees and
commissions. In so doing, they reiterated that merit should prevail over any
other considerations and that Diaspora should not be favoured in such
appointments, but equally they should not be excluded or discriminated against
being treated as second-rate citizens;
3. Based on the principle of ‘No Taxation without Representation’, they
urged the Government and in particular the successor to the Ligale Commission
(the anticipate Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission) and Parliament
in creating the 80 additional constituencies to reserve 5 (for the 5 continents)
for Diaspora Representatives. Indeed, recognizing that numerically they are more
than any single constituency or County, within the context of the new
constitutional dispensation they should be considered as Kenya’s 48th county.
They enumerated several countries where such provisions already exist world
over;
4. They called for mindset-change among all Kenyans – whether Diaspora or
home-based – in the way each group perceives and treats the other. They
committed to continue with engagement among their members who might look down
upon in any way some of their home-based counterparts to forthwith see all
Kenyans as one integral people, and in the same vein appealed to the Government
and home-based counterparts, relatives and colleagues to also inculcate positive
attitude about their countrymen and women domiciled beyond Kenya’s jurisdiction;
and
5. To improve engagement with the Government and home-based counterparts,
they called for the establishment of Diaspora Liaison Offices in all sections of
the world where there are significant numbers of Kenyans, and the consideration
of Honorary Consuls where qualified and meriting Kenyans have become ‘senior
citizens’ of countries of domicile.
In his response, Minister Onyonka, himself a former Diaspora appreciated the
delegation, welcomed the petition and promised to bring it to the attention of
the relevant government authorities. He indicated that some of the matters
raised are already within the purview of the Ministry, including the plan to
appoint a few Honorary Consuls in deserving areas once the legal and
administrative instruments are complete. He further indicated that in
recognition of the importance of Diaspora not only in numerical and
socio-economic terms, but also as Kenya’s unofficial ambassadors, the Ministry
has already created a Diaspora Desk with a senior officer as its head, and that
the Government is already working on a Diaspora Bill which will look into most
of the issues raised. He further confirmed that the Ministry is holding
preliminary consultations with the IIECK in how best realistically to have
Kenyans abroad participate in future in the governance of the country, including
in elections and referenda.
Further engagement is expected in the future, even as the Diaspora organizations
themselves explore more effective, efficient and inclusive ways of engagement,
with the possibility of an Umbrella Diaspora Alliance emerging. They thanked the
Ministry for the warm reception, looking forward to deserving attention and
speed in tackling the matters raised.
Attached is a copy of the Official Petition.
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Inclusion of Kenya’s Diaspora Representatives in the new Judicial Service
Commission (JSC), other constitution implementation committees, and generally in
Kenya’s socio-economic and cultural development
PETITIONERS REQUIREMENT:Inclusion of Kenyan Diaspora Representatives in
strategic committees, commissions and other national duties of paramount
importance.
To:
1. H.E. THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA
HARAMBEE HOUSE, HARAMBEE AVENUE
P.O. BOX 62345 – 00200
NAIROBI, KENYA
2. THE RT. HON. PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA
SHELL HOUSE, HARAMBEE AVENUE
P.O. BOX 74434
NAIROBI, KENYA
3. H.E. THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA
JOGOO HOUSE ‘A’, TAIFA ROAD
P.O. BOX 30478 – 00100
NAIROBI, KENYA
4. HON. SPEAKER OF THE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
P.O BOX 41842 – 00100
NAIROBI, KENYA
clerk(a)parliament.go.ke
(254-2) 2221291 or 2848000
(254-2) 2243694
5. HON. MINISTER OF JUSTICE & CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
COOPERATIVE BANK HOUSE, HAILE SELASSIE AVENUE
P.O. BOX 56057 - 00200
NAIROBI, KENYA
6. HON. MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
OLD TREASURYBUILDING, HARAMBEE AVENUE
P.O. BOX 30551 - 00100
NAIROBI, KENYA
7. HON. ATTORNEY GENERAL
SHERIA HOUSE, 2ND FLOOR
P.O. BOX 40112 - 00100
NAIROBI, KENYA
TEL. 227461 EXT 37419
8. THE HON. CHIEF JUSTICE
HIGH COURT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA
LAW COURTS, TAIFA ROAD
P.O. BOX 30041
NAIROBI, KENYA
9. HON. CHAIRPERSON
PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE & LEGAL AFFAIRS
PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
P.O BOX 41842 – 00100
NAIROBI, KENYA
10. HON. CHAIRPERSON
PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONSTITUTION
PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
P.O BOX 41842 – 00100
NAIROBI, KENYA
PETITION BACKGROUND
Importance of the Judiciary, the Legal Sector and the Place of the Diaspora: The
passage and promulgation of the New Constitution lends Kenya a unique and rare
opportunity to correct the wrongs of the past, including inequality and
injustice, to become once again a leading light among nations of the world. As
is widely acknowledged, whereas a nation can thrive with an under-performing
executive or legislature, it can hardly survive with a below-expectation
judiciary. It is with this importance that we view the ongoing legal and
constitutional reforms with great keenness. With over 3 million Kenyans believed
to be in foreign lands, remitting on average over US$ 1 billion (KShs 80
billion) a year, their importance to our present and future needs no gainsaying.
Hitherto, the Government of Kenya has largely turned a blind eye on them. Yet
this is in spite of being a signatory to the African Charter on Human and
People’s Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (among others), whose
Article 25 holds that:-
Every citizen shall have the right and opportunity … without unreasonable
restrictions: (a) to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or
through freely chosen representatives; etc.
Article 2(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights avers that:-
Each State Party …. undertakes to take steps, individually and through
international assistance and cooperation, and especially economic and technical,
to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving
progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the Covenant by
all appropriate means….
We are deeply perturbed not only at the apparent throwing merit out of the
window in the ongoing appointments of Committees and Commissions, instead
replacing it with deal-making between the two major partners in the Coalition,
patronage, dynasty and other known ills that have over the years denied Kenya
the opportunity to excel, but also the total exclusion of Diaspora
representation in all this.
JSC role and importance of Diaspora inclusion in the decision making process: In
the recently promulgated constitution of Kenya Articles 171 to 172, the
Establishment of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), its functions and the
mechanisms of appointments of the commissioners are well explained. Briefly, the
Commission should consist of the Chief Justice, who shall be the chairperson,
one Supreme Court judge elected by the judges of the Supreme Court; one Court of
Appeal judge elected by the judges of the Court of Appeal, one High Court judge
and one magistrate, one a woman and one a man, elected by the members of the
association of judges and magistrates, the Attorney-General, two advocates, one
a woman and one a man, each of whom has at least fifteen years’ experience,
elected by the members of the statutory body responsible for the professional
regulation of advocates; one person nominated by the Public Service Commission;
and one woman and one man to represent the public, not being lawyers, appointed
by the President with the approval of the National Assembly. The duties of
Commission includes:- promotion and facilitation of the independence and
accountability of the judiciary, promotion of transparent administration of
justice, recommending persons for appointment as judges, receiving complaints,
investigating and removing judicial officers, preparing and implementation of
programmes for the continuing education of judges and judicial officers,
advising the national government on improving the efficiency of the
administration of justice among others. These duties are primary to all Kenyans
hence the appointments should net a wide range of talents including the already
known reservoir of the highly trained/qualified Kenyans currently fitting the
description of a Kenyan Diaspora – or at a minimum, seek their views on the
same.
The justification of the Kenyan Diaspora consideration is based on the current
statistics on the Diaspora constituency and their contribution to running of the
economy of our country. With remittances ranking the second highest source of
foreign exchange and contributor to growth of our national economy only after
tourism we cannot continue to treat them with disdain. Among the Kenyan
Diasporas are highly qualified Lawyers, Engineers, Scientists, Medical Doctors
and others currently constituting the well documented brain drain phenomenon
observed in many African countries. While this constituency has worked very hard
in development of the country and has publicly indicated their interest in being
contracted/included in the processes that are of high value to Kenya such as JSC
committee constitution, it appears the government has some level of lethargy
when it comes to their inclusion in the Kenya decision making process. Indeed it
saddens many that expatriates who absolutely lack the passion and patriotism for
Kenya have been preferred over them. Kenya is losing a battle that every country
would love to win if it continues to exclude some of her brightest brains. Many
cases abound to learn from in terms of maximizing Diaspora input: India,
Malaysia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, China, UK, just to mention a few.
The purpose of this petition therefore is to ask His Excellency the President,
the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, the entire Executive Branch of Government, and the
Legislature to ensure inclusion of Diaspora Representatives in strategic
committees and commissions including JSC for the purposes of (1) Recognizing the
Kenyan Diaspora Constituency (2) Utilizing patriotic highly qualified human
resources. In so doing, merit and diversity should never be compromised under
any circumstance, and replaced instead with mediocrity, political expediency and
ethnic bigotry. We seem to forget that we can have no better or worse
‘Ambassadors’ in foreign lands than these Diaspora.
PETITION
We the undersigned call upon the President of Kenya, Prime Minister of Kenya and
the Kenya Legislature to ensure inclusion of Kenyan Diaspora Representatives
into the JSC and all other future and existing strategic committees and
commissions. We believe this is in the spirit of recognizing the Kenyan Diaspora
constituency contributions to Kenya’s development and working towards attracting
highly trained patriotic services and investment.
LEAD PETITIONERS
1. KENYA GLOBAL UNITY (KGU)
438 EAST 29TH STREET
PATERSON NEW JERSEY-USA 07515
2. NEW VISON KENYA (NVK-MAGEUZI)
P.O. BOX 333, JUBA, SUDAN
OR P.O. BOX 58638-00200, NAIROBI, KENYA
3. KENYANS FOR CHANGE (K4C)
3317 FINLEY RD #257
IRVING, TX 75062
USA
OR CORNER HOUSE, NAIROBI, KENYA
1. DIASPORA MOVEMENT OF KENYA (DMK)
33 PILOT HILL DRIVE
SAINT PETERS, MISSOURI 63376
USA
5. KENYAN COMMUNITY ABROAD (KCA)
P.O. BOX 850431,
BRAINTREE, MA 02185,
USA
SIGNATURES
ORGANIZATION AUTHORIZED OFFICER POSITION SIGNATURES
1. Kenya Global Union Mr. Alex P. Momanyi President Attached
2. New Vision Kenya - Mageuzi Dr Shem Ochuodho Co-Convenor Signed
3. New Vision Kenya - Mageuzi Mr. Robert Kimathi Co-Convenor E-Signature
4. Kenyans for Change Mr. Hebron Mosomi Chairperson Attached
5. Diaspora Movement of Kenya Mr. Robinson Gichuhi Global Chair E-Signature
6. Kenya Community Abroad Mr. David Otwoma Member Rep Signed
7. Kenya Community Abroad Ms Margaret Wamuhu Member Rep Signed
8. Kenya Community Abroad Mr. Gichane Muraguri Member Rep Signed
9. Kenyans for Change Mr. Peter Arasa Finance Dir Signed
10 Kenyans for Change Mr. Peter Ndolo Local Rep Signed
11 New Vision Kenya - Mageuzi Mr. Ochieng’ Nyamogo Member Rep In person
12 Kenya Global Union Mr. Evans Machera Member Rep E-Signature
13 New Vision Kenya - Mageuzi Mr. Mike Osio Org Secretary In person
COPIES: ALL HON. MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
LAW SOCIETY OF KENYA (LSK)
MEDIA HOUSES
Dated: 15th December, 2010
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