LSK seeks to resolve Mau Mau dispute

Wambugu wa Nyingi (L), Jane Muthoni Mara (2L), Paulo Nzili (2R) and Ndiku Mutua (R) pose for photographers outside the High Court in central London. Three elderly Kenyans began a court battle on July 16, 2012 to win damages from the British government for brutality they claim they suffered at the hands of British troops during the 1950s Mau Mau uprising. Photo/FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• According to LSK chief executive Apollo Mboya, there have been professional accusations and counter accusations among lawyers and law firms involved in the case both locally and in the UK.
• The war veterans moved to the High Court in Britain seeking compensation due to torture and other inhumane acts caused by officials and agents of the Colonial British Government.
• Reports in a section of the mainstream media have indicated that the British Government is seeking an out of court settlement with the former war veterans.

The Law Society of Kenya has set a date to resolve disputes involving lawyers representing over 8,000 former Mau Mau fighters at a UK Court.

According to LSK chief executive Apollo Mboya, there have been professional accusations and counter accusations among lawyers and law firms involved in the case both locally and in the UK.

“We have resolved to hear and determine the professional dispute on June 1 in Nairobi towards faster dispensation of justice to the former freedom fighters,” Mr Mboya said.

The war veterans moved to the High Court in Britain seeking compensation due to torture and other inhumane acts caused by officials and agents of the Colonial British Government.

Reports in a section of the mainstream media have indicated that the British Government is seeking an out of court settlement with the former war veterans.

Mr Mboya said LSK had received a series of confidential letters that some people masquerading as lawyers were paid legal fees towards the case.

“We want to set the record straight and have called for a meeting of all involved parties to establish the lawyers on record for which case and clients,” Mr Mboya said.

He said that the meeting will seek to establish the status of any suit or settlement being pursued on behalf of the former freedom fighters and respective roles of the parties in the matter,” Mr Mboya said.

The LSK Secretary/CEO said that there are also allegations of legal malpractices and misrepresentations involving local and British based lawyers and law firms.

“There are also impostors who allegedly pocketed over Sh170 million as part of legal fees to represent the ex-Mau Mau fighters,” Mr Mboya said.

He said that LSK had also received formal complaints from the Kenya Human Rights Commission concerning unethical practices and misrepresentation to the former freedom fighters.

“We are also in possession of letters from the then Ministry of Immigration stating that some persons involved in the case flew in from the UK and worked even without work permits,” he said.

He added that some of the companies involved in the case were not registered in line with the law.

Our stand informed by Constitution, say commissions

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission chairman Sarah Serem (left) in conversation with the chairman of the Commission on Administrative Justice Otiende Amollo (centre) and Commission for Implementation of the Constitution chairman Charles Nyachae (right) at the Serena Hotel, Nairobi May 31, 2013. They said their stand on MPs' pay was informed by the Constitution. JENNIFER MUIRURI 

By LUCAS BARASA
 

 

Constitutional commissions have told MPs to stop arm-twisting them to give in to their demands by threatening to reduce their budgets and numbers.

In a meeting at Serena Hotel, Nairobi Friday, the heads of the commissions defended themselves from MPs' attacks saying their stand on various national issues was informed by the Constitution.

“Parliament should not use the budget process to arm-twist constitutional commissions,” Commission for Implementation of the Constitution chairman Charles Nyachae said.

The chairman of the Commission on Administrative Justice Otiende Amollo said: “The constitution requires all commissions to be given adequate budget for their operations.”

“If the allocations are slashed, the commissions will not deliver their mandate to Kenyans. We have constitution safeguards that protect allocations to commissions. The constitution is also very clear on how a commissioner could be removed from office,” Mr Amollo said.

He said it is MPs role to increase or reduce taxes.

Mr Nyachae said CIC commissioners have been “invited” to participate in a parliamentary committee on budget talks on Monday. The CIC budget is to be discussed in the meeting, Mr Nyachae said.

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission chairman Sarah Serem said the body is open for negotiations with various institutions including Parliament.

She said plans were underway for SRC to discuss with the Parliamentary Service Commission the MPs' salaries.

The SRC has come under intense criticism from MPs for reducing their salaries from Sh851,000 to Sh532,500 and legislators want the old pay reinstated.

On Thursday, the High Court restrained the Parliamentary Service Commission from releasing enhanced pay for MPs.

The legislators will now have to wait until the court determines a petition lodged Thursday afternoon by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).

The lawyers filed an application for a conservatory order and a petition, raising constitutional questions about Parliament’s mandate.

Justice David Majanja ruled that it was necessary to halt payment of the enhanced salaries due to the grave constitutional issues raised by the LSK.

The MPs saga turned nasty on Thursday after legislators threatened to pass laws exempting millions of Kenyans from paying income tax.

They also said they would sack not fewer than 21 members of constitutional commissions and slash their budgets “to help the President and his government reduce the public wage bill and free up resources for development.

Additionally, they would make laws to give themselves power to cut the salaries of state officers by 57 per cent.

In a further measure to torpedo government resources, they threatened to revise Value Added Tax “to make life bearable for Kenyans.”

 

Parliamentarians appeared to be acting in anger after President Uhuru Kenyatta supported the Serem-led Commission for reducing MPs salaries.

On Friday, the commissions supported calls by President Kenyatta for MPs to respect the institutions.

The commissions heads regretted that nasty words were being used against them yet they were just fulfilling their constitutional mandates.

Govt keen on devolution - Uhuru

President Uhuru Kenyatta said the agenda of both County and National governments is to serve the people. PHOTO/FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By PPS
 

 

In Summary

• The President noted the need for the two levels of government to work harmoniously for synergy and efficiency in service delivery.
• According to the President Kenyatta, working closely with all governors in the implementation of the Jubilee manifesto is key and no level of government can succeed without the support of the other

President Uhuru Kenyatta has reiterated his pledge to fully support the implementation of the devolved system of government.

He said the process of streamlining the National Government to align it with the new Constitution is underway.

The President noted the need for the two levels of government to work harmoniously for synergy and efficiency in service delivery adding that that the agenda of both County and National governments is to serve the people.

President Kenyatta was speaking at State House Nairobi when he received a report of the Task Force that was established to look into the challenges facing the implementation of devolution.

“Let us not look at each other as competitors but as people and institutions who complement one another and who must work closely in order to succeed,” he said.

He emphasised the need for the immediate establishment of appropriate infrastructures, including the Summit and an effective Secretariat, to facilitate cooperation between the two levels of government.

According to the President Kenyatta, working closely with all governors in the implementation of the Jubilee manifesto is key and no level of government can succeed without the support of the other.

Speaking during the meeting, chairman of the Governors Council Isaac Ruto praised the President for his support to the devolution process.

Mr Ruto assured the President of the governors’ commitment to implementing their agenda at the county level and pledges made by the Jubilee coalition.

The Task Force, chaired by Mr Mohamed Abdikadir, comprises of six governors and officials from the ministries of the National Treasury, the Interior and Coordination of National Government as well as Devolution and Planning.

Also present during the meeting were Cabinet Secretary Devolution and Planning Anne Waiguru, Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia and PS Mutea Iringo.

Stanbic Bank top man announces own departure

The managing director of Stanbic Bank Tanzania, Mr Bashir Awale, addresses journalists at a past event. The seasoned banker has announced his departure from the bank. PHOTO | FILE 

By The Citizen Reporter  (email the author)

Posted  Tuesday, May 28  2013 at  23:05

In Summary

• In the time that he has spent with Stanbic Tanzania he has been able to transform it from an ailing loss making entity to that of a profit making bank which is now in the list of the top four in the country.

Dar es Salaam. The managing director of Stanbic Bank Tanzania, Mr Bashir Awale, has announced his departure as he takes a new position in the bank next month.

Mr Awale, who has been working as the chief executive for the last 7 and half years, will be taking a new position as the Regional Investment Bank Executive for East Africa as well as Ethiopia and South Sudan. He ends his tenure at the bank on Friday, this year and will be taking his new position starting 1 July.

Mr Awale has had an illustrious career in the banking industry having structured deals from CitiBank before joining Stanbic where he is known for structuring various deals with companies such as Vodacom, Celtel (now known as Airtel), Tanesco and the latest landmark deals with the government of Tanzania.

In the time that he has spent with Stanbic Tanzania he has been able to transform it from an ailing loss making entity to that of a profit making bank which is now in the list of the top four in the country. He has also managed to streamline the workforce to that of young energetic and motivated team that has managed to transform the brand and reputation of the bank to an institution of excellence and innovation.

In his new role he is expected to use his knowledge and expertise within the East African region.

“It’s touching for me to leave the bank and the country which has been my home for nearly two decades, but I feel excited that my expertise will be used for impact in more countries. I will still be able to assist the bank and Tanzania as it will be one of the countries within my region even though I will be based in Nairobi,” Mr Awale said.

Big pay rise in private sector

Photo credit: NOAA Newswire 

By Samuel Kamndaya  (email the author)

Posted  Wednesday, May 29  2013 at  22:06

In Summary

• We have also raised basic salaries for four new sub-sectors--construction, private schools, energy and communication.

Dar es Salaam/Dodoma. The government has announced a rise of between 25 per cent and 65 per cent in the minimum wage of workers in the private sector. The change takes effect from July, about five years after the first attempt to do so failed.

The Labour and Employment minister, Ms Gaudensia Kabaka, told the National Assembly yesterday that her ministry has successfully completed a research as well as consultations and minimum wages for employees in 12 sub-sectors of the private sector will be raised officially on July 1.

“My ministry has thoroughly researched and consulted with employers in the 12 sub-sectors within the private sector and arrived at a conclusion that basic salaries should be raised on July 1, 2013,” she said, moving a motion requesting the National Assembly to endorse a total of Sh14.959 billion for her ministry in the 2013/14 financial year.

The pay rise comes in the wake of consultations with the private sector, employers and workers’ unions. The minimum wage for a worker in the industry and trade sub-sector will go up by 25 per cent. In the hotel and home services sub-sector, it will rise by 55.2 per cent.

The statutory basic salary for workers in the private security sub-sector will go up by 46.4 per cent. Their counterparts in the mineral sub-sector will enjoy a 25.2 per cent boost to their basic salaries. Workers earning basic salaries in the fisheries and marine sub-sector will earn 21.2 per cent more while those in the health sub-sector will get the highest increase--a cool 65 per cent.

The statutory basic salary for workers in the transport sub-sector will go up by 49 per cent while the basic salary in the agriculture sub-sector will rise by 42.9 per cent.

“We have also raised basic salaries for four new sub-sectors--construction, private schools, energy and communication,” she said, noting that inflation and the need to protect investments were considered in upgrading the basic salaries.

The decision to raise statutory minimum wages for private sector employees comes after years of debate dating back to November 2007, when employers put up stiff resistance to an abrupt increase.

The Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) said the 25 per cent award in the industries and trade sub-sector was “reasonable”. The organisation’s member had recommended that same figure to the wage board.

CTI Executive Director Christine Kilindu told The Citizen: “We are ready to pay the amount recommended in the budget speech but if there are any additional changes in the wage order (to be published later in the Government Gazette) against our proposal, we will hold further consultations.”

Representatives of employers and workers said they were consulted during the crafting of new wages but they would have to establish the details of the wage order before making any comments. The secretary general of the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (Tucta), Mr Nicholas Mgaya said: “Let’s wait for the government wage order to get a clear picture.”

Tucta will carry out an evaluation of the wage order before deciding what to do, he added. The unionists also intend to meet President Jakaya Kikwete after the budget parliamentary session in June to discuss worker demands. “If there are any complaints, we will not hesitate to tell the President,” Mr Mgaya added.

  

 

The executive director of the Association of Tanzania Employers, Dr Aggrey Mlimuka, told The Citizen: “I have to see the government wage order that will be published in the Government Gazette soon, then we will check the proposal we made to the wage board.”

Ms Kabaka said yesterday that the decision to conduct a study on the right amount to be paid in minimum wages for employees in the private sector stems from the fact that they have been complaining about low wages and requested the government, through its sectoral wage boards, to upgrade the package.

Wage boards, which are responsible for maintaining agreements between registered trade unions and employer organisations, have reportedly carried out research and considered issues that matter to employers.

She added: “Issues like living expenses, productivity of employers, employers’ capacity and availability of employment opportunities have all been considered in line with the Labour Institutions Act 2004. Actual minimum wages will officially be announced in the Government Gazette.” Ms Kabaka’s statement did not go unchallenged, however, with Opposition Spokesperson for the ministry, Ms Cecilia Pareso (Special Seats - Chadema), questioning the rationale behind spending millions of shillings on a study to ascertain something that is “well known”.

It was unfair of the government, she added, to spend Sh60 million in the 2012/13 financial year to facilitate the study. Ms Pareso added that it was equally lacking in merit for the government to spend another Sh55 million in 2012/13 to facilitate meetings for the 12 sectoral wage boards. In the 2013/14 financial year, a total of Sh82.925 million is being sought for the same purposes.

 “This, ironically, means that we have spent a total of Sh197.925 million to undertake a study to establish something that is already known….Did we really need to conduct studies and facilitate board meetings to establish that people in the private sector need salary increments?” she asked

Clarify on pension funds: Opposition

Shadow Minister for Labour and Employment Cecilia Pareso yesterday challenged the government to clear the confusion surrounding the liquidity of pension funds. PHOTO | FILE 

By Samuel Kamndaya The Citizen Reporter  

 

In Summary

• Shadow minister wants to know who is telling the truth following conflicting statements by President Kikwete and Controller and Auditor General Ludovick Utouh

Dodoma. A recent statement by President Jakaya Kikwete that no pension fund will go bankrupt sparked debate in Parliament yesterday, with the Opposition demanding to know the fate of pensioners’ money.

Debating the 2013/2014 budget estimates of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the opposition spokesperson for the docket, Ms Cecilia Pareso, said the government was giving conflicting statements on the state of pension funds, and asked the responsible minister, Ms Gaudensia Kabaka, to clarify.

In April, Controller and Auditor General (CAG) Ludovick Utouh raised the red flag on the performance of the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF), saying it suffered a loss of Sh6.5 trillion.

Briefing journalists on various audit reports, the CAG called upon the government to intervene and save PSPF from imminent collapse.

But President Kikwete allayed public fears on May Day, saying that pension funds were not cash strapped.

He said the government had made it possible for investments by pension funds to increase from Sh3.38 trillion in May 2012 to Sh4.24 trillion in May 2013.

The value of pension funds’ assets went up from Sh3.74 trillion to Sh4.73 trillion during the same period, he added.

The Opposition yesterday asked the government to clear the confusion.

“We want the minister to tell Tanzanians who is telling the truth.  Is it the President or the CAG?” Ms Pareso asked.

She said while the government had promised to start repaying part of the Sh6 trillion it owed PSPF with an initial payment of Sh50 billion in 2013/2014, this was not indicated in Ms Kabaka’s budget.

1. She said various pension funds have erroneously given out loans worth Sh452 billion to the government for the construction of the University of Dodoma, saying such loans may disrupt financial flows in the funds’ cash accounts.

Attack on Kibanda ‘politically motivated’

Mr Kibanda 

By Katare Mbashiru The Citizen Reporter  
 

 

In Summary

• Following the brutal attack, TEF formed a five-member team led by Mr Deodatus Balile to investigate circumstances which led to the attack and torture of Mr Kibanda.

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF) has linked the attack and torture of New Habari Corporation group managing editor Absalom Kibanda to politics and his profession.

The TEF report released yesterday in Tanga also states that some security officials were involved in the attack which left Mr Kibanda seriously injured. During the incident, some of the senior editor’s teeth were pulled out, fingernails plucked out, a finger cut and his left eye perched.

Mr Kibanda, who is also TEF chairman, was flown to South Africa for treatment where he remains hospitalised after he was subjected to torture by some unidentified persons on the night of March 6 at the gate to his house in Mbezi Juu on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam.

Following the brutal attack, TEF formed a five-member team led by Mr Deodatus Balile to investigate circumstances which led to the attack and torture of Mr Kibanda. The team was also to look into indicators of whether the incident was a coincidence or a premeditated one.

The other members of the team were Ms Pili Mtambalike, Ms Jane Mihanji, Mr Tumaini Mwailenge, and secretary of the Balile-led team, Mr Rashid Kejo.

The team concluded that Kibanda’s attack was engineered by security officials in a plot to spur political animosities between the main opposition party, Chadema and another major political party.

“Some of the interviewees alleged that Chadema has been given special training by foreign agents to collude with some unethical security personnel to engage in such acts as kidnap, attack and even kill  prominent people in the country including journalists,” reads part of the report.

This, the report argues, was aimed at planting seeds of discord in the country so that citizens would believe that the country has become ungovernable.

Upon being contacted, the Chadema secretary general, Dr Willibrod Slaa, said these were serious allegations and declined to make further comment saying he was yet to read the report.

“Let me first read the document and then I will be in a better position to give the party’s stand,” he told The Citizen in a telephone interview.

The probe team -- guided by five terms of reference -- further revealed a series of scenarios of police involvement a few days before Mr Kibanda’s attack and subsequent torture.

At some point, according to the report, M

But, in a swift reaction, Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Advera Senso rubbished the report saying police had no time to waste on people’s emotions.

“Let’s wait for the responsible authorities tasked to investigate the matter. They are working independently and professionally. If we want to take this country to a better level, we must shun acting on emotions and speculations,” she said.

The report further says that a cliff of insecurity facing media professionals looms large as the country inches closer to the 2015 general election. 

It says that there are people who see journalists, who stand for objectivity and truth, as enemies who might spoil their intentions.

TEF recommends that this report be taken as a source of investigation by responsible authorities

r Kibanda and New Habari Corporation’s chief executive officer Hussein Bashe, were being closely monitored by police officers using a police vehicle with registration numbers PT180. The officers even intercepted the duo on the pretext of checking their vehicles between  Sinza Kijiweni, where New Habari offices are located, and Sinza Makaburini.