MUTULA KILONZO NAMED MINISTER OF JUSTICE

UNCLAS NAIROBI 000876 SIPDIS AF/E FOR SUSAN DRIANO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KE SUBJECT: MUTULA KILONZO NAMED MINISTER OF JUSTICE REF: A. NAIROBI 848 ¶B. NAIROBI 706 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. The government announced on May 4 that Mutula Kilonzo has been named Minister of Justice, National Cohesion, and Constitutional Affairs (Minister of Justice). Until his appointment as Minister of Justice, Kilonzo had been serving as the Minister for Nairobi Metropolitan Development. He is known as a competent lawyer and a savvy political operator. His most immediate task will be to reinvigorate the government's attempt to establish a special tribunal to hold accountable those persons accused of being responsible for post-election violence in late 2007 and early 2008. Kilonzo is well-placed to play a key role in implementing the wider reform agenda, including constitutional reform. He was a member of the Party of National Unity (PNU) team which negotiated the National Accord and Reconciliation agreement that ended Kenya's post-election crisis. End Summary. ¶2. The government announced on May 4 that Mutula Kilonzo has been named Minister of Justice, National Cohesion, and Constitutional Affairs (Minister of Justice). Kilonzo replaces Martha Karua, who resigned as Minister of Justice in early April (Reftel B). Until his appointment as Minister of Justice, Kilonzo served as the Minister for Nairobi Metropolitan Development. He has a reputation as a competent lawyer and a savvy political operator. He also served as former President Daniel Arap Moi's personal lawyer for over twenty years. He entered politics in 2002, as a nominated Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Kenyan African National Union. He won election as MP representing the Mbooni constituency on the Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya (ODM-K) ticket in 2007. ¶3. As Minister of Justice Kilonzo will play a key role in implementing the reform agenda. His first task will be to reinvigorate the government's attempt to pass legislation establishing a special tribunal to hold accountable those accused of being responsible for post-election violence in late-2007 and early 2008. The Minister of Justice also plays a key role in the constitutional reform process and is tasked with operationalizing the Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission. Kilonzo is familiar with the reform agenda, having served as on the Party of National Unity team that negotiated the National Accord and Reconciliation agreement that ended Kenya's post-election crisis and which sets the reform agenda. COMMENT -------------- ¶4. Martha Karua's resignation set off intense competition within PNU to have their candidate be named Minister of Justice. The nomination of Kilonzo is probably a victory for competence. However, there is also a political aspect to his nomination. Kilonzo is a member of Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka's ODM-K party. Thus, his appointment serves a second purpose of cushioning the blow for Musyoka, whose standing in the grand coalition was recently diminished by a ruling by the Speaker of Parliament (Reftel A). While his closeness to Kalonzo Musyoka is of concern, Kilonzo has previously shown the ability to navigate Kenya's political waters while maintaining his independence. RANNEBERGER