The Civil Society organisations in Kisumu have called for the resignation of all National Land Commission (NLC) commissioners to pave way for a fresh recruitment process.
The Commission, they said suffers a crisis of confidence and does not enjoy public good will following a myriad of appeal cases filed in court questioning their appointment.
The Kondele Social Justice Centre team leader, Agutu Akach said the labour relations court which nullified the appointment of two former Members of Parliament (MP’s) Esther Murugi and Tiya Galgalo was proof enough that the recruitment was flawed.
“To protect the NLC from capture and further land deforms in Kenya, we now demand that the recently sworn in commissioners should step down in good faith,” he said.
Addressing the media in Kisumu on Monday, Agutu who was flanked by other civil society leaders said the process of appointing the seven commissioners who have been sworn in was flawed and irregular.
The National Executive, he said failed to constitute a competent selection panel by leaving out Non-Government Organisations (NGO’s).
The panel, he added acted unconstitutionally and illegally in interviewing and qualifying Ester Murugi and Tiya Galgalo as commissioners yet they had been shortlisted as chairpersons.
“The roles of NLC Chairman and those of commissioners are very clear and distinct. Therefore to interview the two for positions they had not applied for is an indication that the exercise was predetermined,” he said.
The selection process, he said was not done in public as required by law thus denied the public the right to participate in the process.
“It is unfortunate that all the nine proposed commissioners were either former politicians or political protégées of the powers that be with no land governance knowledge or exposure,” he said.
With five appeal petitions filed to challenge the appointment of the seven sworn commissioners, Agutu said it was only fair for them to step down and await the hearing and determination of the cases.
By Chris Mahandara
