26 January 2012

editorial

The decision yesterday by Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Francis Muthaura to resign as Finance minister and Head of Public Service respectively, is welcome.

Their stay in office had become untenable after the Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday ordered them to stand trial over post election violence.

The new Constitution has raised the threshold of leadership to a level that makes it impossible to remain in office when facing serious criminal charges.

The logic is simple: A leader whose integrity is under question cannot be trusted to execute important national matters with the humility and confidence the office requires.

This is not to say that Mr Muthaura and Mr Kenyatta are guilty of the charges against them. It's simply to restate the supremacy of the Constitution over personal aspirations.

Which is why we believe the resignations should spare the country another round of toxic public debate and dizzying litigation that was already shaping up over the matter.

It is also our hope that other interest groups will tone down their rhetoric and avoid any grievance-mongering that might raise the political temperatures, derail the reform agenda or distract the public from the more important task of nation building.

Perhaps more urgent as the General Election edges closer is to address the loopholes in our laws that allow for multiple interpretations of basic clauses of the Constitution.

Such ambiguities provide a fertile for individuals to cling on to their offices even when they have fallen foul of the law.

Clarity is paramount in law. We cannot depend on precedents alone to ensure leaders walk the spirit of the Constitution.