The tough-talking Senior Counsel also warned that he would never
"negotiate with criminals", apparently in reference to the Mungiki
sect, which has slaughtered hundreds of Kenyans over the past few
years, and other organised gangs. Instead, he said, he would "make it
very difficult for them to pander to crime."
And even as he promised to deliver the ever-elusive new Constitution,
Kenyans were asking how far, and how deep the new reformist' was
willing to go in light of disastrous performances by past office
holders.
Said he: "I will strive to do my best in ensuring institutional reforms
Kenyans have yearned for decades are achieved within a reasonable time
frame".
Mutula also set the bar high for himself he promised to deliver, whatever the circumstances.
"If I meet insurmountable objects, they will be met by unstoppable force," he declared.
No quitting
And alluding to the ultimate the fate that met his successor who
claimed that her mandate had been "recalled by the appointing
authority" the Senior Counsel said he would not cut and run if met
with such obstacles.
"If it happens (obstacles arise), I do not think I will resign. I will do something slightly different."
Mutula, who takes over at a time when the reform question is firmly
back on the agenda of the 10th Parliament, promised to work towards
unity and bipartisanship in delivering his mandate.
"Just as President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga consulted
prior to the announcement of the Cabinet reshuffle, I pledge to be
consulting them occasionally he told The Standard.
He said Kenyans had high expectations, and he viewed the appointment as a challenging moment in his life.
"I have no doubt in my mind that I can do it," said the Mbooni MP,
adding that Kenya was facing a crisis manifested recently in ethnic,
sectarian and religious divisions and mob killings in Central and
Nyanza provinces.
Mutula, whose successor at the Nairobi Metropolitan Development
ministry was named by President Kibaki as Ndia MP Njeru Githae, pledged
to deliver consensus for a local tribunal to try suspects of the 2007
post-election violence that killed over 1,300 people.
Mutula's transfer to the powerful seat and replacement at Nairobi
Metropolitan was last night being seen as a delicate political
manoeuvre, rewarding his loyalty while assuaging the bitterness in
Kirinyaga over Karua's resignation.
Crucially, Kibaki held consultations with Raila at Harambee House,
where the new appointments and the dispute over the chairmanship of the
House Business Committee and Leader of Government Business were
discussed.
No explanation
Kabete MP Lewis Nguyai replaced Githae as Assistant Minister for Local
Government. Notably, the post of Medical Services Assistant minister,
last held by Garsen MP Danson Mungatana, was not filled.
No explanation was offered in the official Presidential Press Service communiqu.
Yesterday, Githae was all smiles: "I am very humbled by the President's
decision to appoint me. I promise I will not let the people down. I
will continue fighting for reforms from within and will remain a member
of Narc-Kenya".
Karua and Mungatana constitute the top leadership of Narc-Kenya.
On reform, Mutula said he hoped the Committee of Experts writing
Kenya's new Constitution would finish a draft charter by December, this
year, pending the fourth session of Parliament next March to allow a
referendum before or by August.
"Any date after March will be dangerous for the country, since there
might be no political appetite to complete the exercise for it will be
too close to the next election," he says.
And he believes he enjoys the support of the President and the PM,
besides the capacity to succeed where Karua and predecessor Kiraitu
Murungi failed.
"I will put an agenda on the table and expect support," said Mutula.
– Reporting by David Ochami, Francis Ngige and Daniel Nzia
The Standard
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