By LUKOYE ATWOLI
Sunday Nation 08 May 2011
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) started the process of interviewing candidates for the position of Chief Justice (CJ) this past week.
The extent of accountability and transparency in this process is unprecedented, and one doubts whether it has been done similarly elsewhere in the world.
Obviously, Kenyans should brace themselves for more open appointment processes for public office, and anyone aspiring to high office must be ready to submit to public scrutiny and an examination of their personal integrity.
Seen in light of constitutional requirements, this process would be a welcome breath of fresh air into our public service. However, it is my contention today that at the present stage in the recruitment process, public interviews of candidates for the position of CJ constitute an overkill.
According to the Constitution, the President is expected to appoint the Chief Justice “in accordance with the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission, and subject to the approval of the National Assembly”.
This suggests that the JSC will perform the initial (professional) interviews to short list the candidates from among whom the President (and the Prime Minister under the National Accord) will select their preferred candidate.
The selected candidate must then be “approved” by Parliament, which through the committee system provides an avenue for public participation in the appointment.
A basic understanding of this process is that the JSC conducts the technical work of getting a number of clearly qualified candidates for the President to choose from, while Parliament vets the chosen candidate for any issues outside of technical competence that may impinge upon the performance of the office of Chief Justice.
From this perspective, therefore, it is doubtful what value a public interview process adds to the technical evaluation of a candidate’s capabilities.
Public interviews will often only subject the candidates to humiliation and badgering by members of the JSC playing to the gallery, a job that would be better done by politicians sitting in the various committees of Parliament.
If the JSC relinquishes its technical job description and engages instead in a public (read political) “vetting” process, what will the parliamentary committees do when confronted with the eventual nominee?
In my view, the JSC’s technical interview process, as opposed to the more political “vetting” process, should be done in private to ensure that the dignity of the applicants is protected, given that not all applicants will be successful.
The successful candidate may then be subjected to the full glare of publicity to ensure that apart from technical competence, the judge meets societal expectations in areas of social comportment and personal integrity.
In my opinion, Kenyans have a massive challenge in interpreting and implementing constitutional provisions dealing with transparency and accountability, probably because we have grown up physically, psychologically and socially in totalitarian regimes where we knew only repression and unilateral “roadside” declarations.
In our attempt to break clear of the past regimes’ practices, we run the risk of going overboard and raising mediocrity to the high altar of public service, all in the name of increasing public participation in public appointments.
Hopefully, there are at least a few trained legal minds that would find it worth their while to critically interrogate what professional commissions such as the JSC are doing in the name of constitutional implementation.
Dr Lukoye Atwoli is a consultant psychiatrist and lecturer at Moi University’s school of medicine www.lukoyeatwoli.com
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Labouring Kenyans must take blame for their misery
By LUKOYE ATWOLI
Sunday Nation 01 May 2011
Thousands of Kenyan workers will on Sunday congregate at Uhuru Park to mark Labour Day. They will listen to speeches by labour leaders and maybe a few government officials.
Most will listen to the speeches for entertainment value only, while a few will be listening keenly for any policy shift in government and the labour movement that would benefit them directly.
Many are hoping for wage increments and tax breaks to enable them make ends meet, and are thus full of hope that this will happen on this day dedicated to their hard labour that keeps our nation afloat.
Unfortunately, anyone hoping that any act done today will significantly change their life is living in dreamland.
No matter what the government announces or does not announce, there will be no significant shift in the well-being of the ordinary Kenyan.
This message needs to sink into the minds of every Kenyan toiling for a thankless employer who pays them peanuts at the end of the day, week, or month. Nothing is going to change!
My message today is intentionally cynical, but it is guided by past events and the behaviour of the average Kenyan. Let me clarify. Over the past few years, the cost of living has been rising exponentially, and the rise in wages has been unable to catch up with it.
Domestic budgets
Many people have had to make changes in their domestic budgets, foregoing most of the things they used to consider essential, and going after the very basic of needs.
In this same period, salaries for politicians holding public office and other high-ranking public servants have sky-rocketed, with many of them earning upwards of a million shillings every month.
Additionally, these “leaders” have chosen not to pay taxes on their earnings despite clear constitutional injunctions against tax evasion.
Kenya Revenue Authority continues to dither and prevaricate on this matter, utterly unable to stand up to the bully politician. After all, the commissioners’ jobs depend on the collective goodwill of politicians for whom paying tax is anathema.
As the prices of basic commodities sky-rocket, the self-same politicians have established cartels to fleece the exchequer through dubious import deals.
An attempt to control the price of oil products has been captured by the same self-interested goons, and indeed many Kenyans would now be happy with the pre-regulation regime!
It is not as if these things are happening in the dark, and that most Kenyans are unaware of them.
Quite to the contrary, anyone interested in the matter knows that our parliamentarians and Cabinet ministers do not pay tax on their pay, and many are involved in grand schemes to defraud the citizens of their tax shillings.
Logically, therefore, the next course of action for the suffering Kenyan should be very clear.
At the very minimum, we must require that the Cabinet is trimmed to a more sensible size.
Second, we must insist that everyone who earns any money in this country pays tax on their income, regardless of status.
Finally, all politicians implicated in corrupt deals must relinquish their positions as required by the law, and be prosecuted accordingly.
Short of making these demands, Kenyans must continue taking the blame for remaining poor and helpless at the hands of ruthless politicians.
Dr Lukoye Atwoli is a consultant psychiatrist and lecturer at Moi University’s School of Medicine www.lukoyeatwoli.com
Sunday Nation 01 May 2011
Thousands of Kenyan workers will on Sunday congregate at Uhuru Park to mark Labour Day. They will listen to speeches by labour leaders and maybe a few government officials.
Most will listen to the speeches for entertainment value only, while a few will be listening keenly for any policy shift in government and the labour movement that would benefit them directly.
Many are hoping for wage increments and tax breaks to enable them make ends meet, and are thus full of hope that this will happen on this day dedicated to their hard labour that keeps our nation afloat.
Unfortunately, anyone hoping that any act done today will significantly change their life is living in dreamland.
No matter what the government announces or does not announce, there will be no significant shift in the well-being of the ordinary Kenyan.
This message needs to sink into the minds of every Kenyan toiling for a thankless employer who pays them peanuts at the end of the day, week, or month. Nothing is going to change!
My message today is intentionally cynical, but it is guided by past events and the behaviour of the average Kenyan. Let me clarify. Over the past few years, the cost of living has been rising exponentially, and the rise in wages has been unable to catch up with it.
Domestic budgets
Many people have had to make changes in their domestic budgets, foregoing most of the things they used to consider essential, and going after the very basic of needs.
In this same period, salaries for politicians holding public office and other high-ranking public servants have sky-rocketed, with many of them earning upwards of a million shillings every month.
Additionally, these “leaders” have chosen not to pay taxes on their earnings despite clear constitutional injunctions against tax evasion.
Kenya Revenue Authority continues to dither and prevaricate on this matter, utterly unable to stand up to the bully politician. After all, the commissioners’ jobs depend on the collective goodwill of politicians for whom paying tax is anathema.
As the prices of basic commodities sky-rocket, the self-same politicians have established cartels to fleece the exchequer through dubious import deals.
An attempt to control the price of oil products has been captured by the same self-interested goons, and indeed many Kenyans would now be happy with the pre-regulation regime!
It is not as if these things are happening in the dark, and that most Kenyans are unaware of them.
Quite to the contrary, anyone interested in the matter knows that our parliamentarians and Cabinet ministers do not pay tax on their pay, and many are involved in grand schemes to defraud the citizens of their tax shillings.
Logically, therefore, the next course of action for the suffering Kenyan should be very clear.
At the very minimum, we must require that the Cabinet is trimmed to a more sensible size.
Second, we must insist that everyone who earns any money in this country pays tax on their income, regardless of status.
Finally, all politicians implicated in corrupt deals must relinquish their positions as required by the law, and be prosecuted accordingly.
Short of making these demands, Kenyans must continue taking the blame for remaining poor and helpless at the hands of ruthless politicians.
Dr Lukoye Atwoli is a consultant psychiatrist and lecturer at Moi University’s School of Medicine www.lukoyeatwoli.com
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Increased scrutiny good for the public service
By LUKOYE ATWOLI
Sunday Nation 24 April 2011
This past week has left most Kenyans with little to cheer about.
From protests about rising food and fuel prices to finger-pointing over the slow pace of the implementation of the Constitution, many would be forgiven for feeling boxed into a corner with very few options open to them.
However, amid all the gloom and lamentations, there was a glimmer of hope that things are looking up in the governance structures of this country from the most unlikely of sources.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Accounts Committee, Roads permanent secretary admitted that senior civil servants are living in fear of prosecution for real or perceived corruption in their dockets.
This statement was obviously meant to elicit some sympathy from the parliamentarians, and it probably did, given that some members of the committee purported to warn the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission to “respect other bodies (read Parliament) since it does not work in isolation . . .”
Progressive Kenyans, on the other hand, had cause to be jubilant over such a confession. At the risk of being branded a sadist, I was one of those who were happy to hear that senior government officials can no longer just do whatever they like with public resources.
They have to keep looking over their shoulders every time they are spending our money, knowing that there are multiple eyes trained on them to prevent them from misusing it.
If Kenyans needed any evidence that the impunity of yesteryears is slowly but surely vanishing, this is it.
Few months
In the few months since the 2010 promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, the president and his ministers have had to constantly consult and study their obligations under the law before performing any official act.
Whenever they have failed the public interest test, they have had to face the wrath of other constitutional and civil society bodies that have made it their business to prevent monkey business in government.
This is a good start for our nascent democracy, and there is reason to hope for a better future.
Contrary to the permanent secretary’s assertion that such scrutiny will discourage young people from taking up government appointments, many young, untainted experts and leaders will relish the opportunity to serve their country without any hesitation.
The assumption that every Kenyan is afraid of scrutiny is false, and taken to its logical conclusion (that we are all innately corrupt), it is even insulting.
This scrutiny of public officials should serve as a wake-up call to all the old fogies who are not used to fulfilling their responsibilities without succumbing to the temptation to steal.
Those that are unable to stand the heat should, to use a cliché perfected on the Kenyan political landscape, do the honourable thing and “step aside”.
County governments
The coming of county governments will demand even greater scrutiny at lower levels of government. It is conceivable that many in the corrupt classes will seek to “decentralise” corruption to a level where they think the risk is lower. We must not let them get away with it.
We must keep in mind the old saying that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.
Fear of scrutiny and prosecution for wrong-doing betrays a pilfering mentality that has no place in the public service. Like the man said, the guilty are always afraid.
Dr Lukoye Atwoli is a consultant psychiatrist and lecturer at Moi University’s school of medicine www.lukoyeatwoli.com
Sunday Nation 24 April 2011
This past week has left most Kenyans with little to cheer about.
From protests about rising food and fuel prices to finger-pointing over the slow pace of the implementation of the Constitution, many would be forgiven for feeling boxed into a corner with very few options open to them.
However, amid all the gloom and lamentations, there was a glimmer of hope that things are looking up in the governance structures of this country from the most unlikely of sources.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Accounts Committee, Roads permanent secretary admitted that senior civil servants are living in fear of prosecution for real or perceived corruption in their dockets.
This statement was obviously meant to elicit some sympathy from the parliamentarians, and it probably did, given that some members of the committee purported to warn the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission to “respect other bodies (read Parliament) since it does not work in isolation . . .”
Progressive Kenyans, on the other hand, had cause to be jubilant over such a confession. At the risk of being branded a sadist, I was one of those who were happy to hear that senior government officials can no longer just do whatever they like with public resources.
They have to keep looking over their shoulders every time they are spending our money, knowing that there are multiple eyes trained on them to prevent them from misusing it.
If Kenyans needed any evidence that the impunity of yesteryears is slowly but surely vanishing, this is it.
Few months
In the few months since the 2010 promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, the president and his ministers have had to constantly consult and study their obligations under the law before performing any official act.
Whenever they have failed the public interest test, they have had to face the wrath of other constitutional and civil society bodies that have made it their business to prevent monkey business in government.
This is a good start for our nascent democracy, and there is reason to hope for a better future.
Contrary to the permanent secretary’s assertion that such scrutiny will discourage young people from taking up government appointments, many young, untainted experts and leaders will relish the opportunity to serve their country without any hesitation.
The assumption that every Kenyan is afraid of scrutiny is false, and taken to its logical conclusion (that we are all innately corrupt), it is even insulting.
This scrutiny of public officials should serve as a wake-up call to all the old fogies who are not used to fulfilling their responsibilities without succumbing to the temptation to steal.
Those that are unable to stand the heat should, to use a cliché perfected on the Kenyan political landscape, do the honourable thing and “step aside”.
County governments
The coming of county governments will demand even greater scrutiny at lower levels of government. It is conceivable that many in the corrupt classes will seek to “decentralise” corruption to a level where they think the risk is lower. We must not let them get away with it.
We must keep in mind the old saying that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.
Fear of scrutiny and prosecution for wrong-doing betrays a pilfering mentality that has no place in the public service. Like the man said, the guilty are always afraid.
Dr Lukoye Atwoli is a consultant psychiatrist and lecturer at Moi University’s school of medicine www.lukoyeatwoli.com
Monday, April 18, 2011
Kibunjia Commission move a double-edged sword
By LUKOYE ATWOLI
Sunday Nation 17 April 2011
Recently, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission interpreted its mandate rightly or wrongly as including publication of reports on the ethnic composition of offices in the public service.
In their first such report, the commission indicted the office of the President and that of the Prime Minister as major culprits in loading their offices with their tribesmates, at the expense of other deserving citizens.
All in all, the report indicated that a few Kenyan tribes took up over two-thirds of the jobs in the civil service, leaving the majority of tribes under-represented in government.
Soon after the publication of the report, both the Office of the President and the Prime Minister’s office issued statements indicating that they either do not directly hire their own staff, or that the figures were exaggerated and calculated to cause embarrassment to one or the other Principal.
Indeed, the Public Service Commission accused the NCIC of ignoring the progress achieved over the past decade in improving ethnic balance in the civil service!
Such protestations of innocence do not do much to address the inequities identified in the NCIC report, and only serve to whitewash a reality that all Kenyans are familiar with.
Whenever one is appointed to a senior position in the public service, they often take it upon themselves to load their zone of influence with their tribesmates in a show of largesse to their “people”.
Those who do not do this are lampooned by their relatives as being selfish and misguided, and are often at risk of losing their jobs for some minor infringement.
Given the scenario outlined above, the NCIC report has its merits as long as it exposes this dangerous practice that feeds the “winner takes all” mentality in our politics, resulting in losers refusing to accept defeat, and winners gloating greedily about their good fortune.
However, reports such as these have a very serious downside, and may end up doing more harm than good.
Ethnic statistics may open up the potential for everyone to claim that they are being marginalised, and to demand government jobs without regard to merit or qualification.
In any case, many tribes are really just colonial constructions that the imperial powers used to understand, subjugate and exploit “natives”.
Many of the so-called tribes are actually a conglomeration of neighbouring ethnic communities with similar culture and similar-sounding languages.
Examples of such ethnic constructions will necessarily include the Luhya and the Kalenjin, but many other “tribes” share this attribute.
Is it possible for the NCIC to release statistics for, say, the number of Kisas, Marakwets, Maragolis, Sengwers or Terik in government?
Also, during the last census, many Kenyans indicated that their tribe was “Kenyan”.
Can the NCIC release information on what proportion of “Kenyans” hold positions in the “Government of Kenya?”
If this information is missing, wouldn’t this only feed the perception that they are victims of blatant discrimination?
Finally, it would be interesting to know the method used to collect information on tribe in the civil service.
The Public Service Commission’s own application form (PSC 2 Revised 2007) does not have any item on the applicant’s tribe (except for “languages spoken”), so it is a fair assumption that the information was largely based on conjecture and not fact.
Dr Lukoye Atwoli is a consultant psychiatrist and lecturer at Moi University’s school of medicine www.lukoyeatwoli.com
Sunday Nation 17 April 2011
Recently, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission interpreted its mandate rightly or wrongly as including publication of reports on the ethnic composition of offices in the public service.
In their first such report, the commission indicted the office of the President and that of the Prime Minister as major culprits in loading their offices with their tribesmates, at the expense of other deserving citizens.
All in all, the report indicated that a few Kenyan tribes took up over two-thirds of the jobs in the civil service, leaving the majority of tribes under-represented in government.
Soon after the publication of the report, both the Office of the President and the Prime Minister’s office issued statements indicating that they either do not directly hire their own staff, or that the figures were exaggerated and calculated to cause embarrassment to one or the other Principal.
Indeed, the Public Service Commission accused the NCIC of ignoring the progress achieved over the past decade in improving ethnic balance in the civil service!
Such protestations of innocence do not do much to address the inequities identified in the NCIC report, and only serve to whitewash a reality that all Kenyans are familiar with.
Whenever one is appointed to a senior position in the public service, they often take it upon themselves to load their zone of influence with their tribesmates in a show of largesse to their “people”.
Those who do not do this are lampooned by their relatives as being selfish and misguided, and are often at risk of losing their jobs for some minor infringement.
Given the scenario outlined above, the NCIC report has its merits as long as it exposes this dangerous practice that feeds the “winner takes all” mentality in our politics, resulting in losers refusing to accept defeat, and winners gloating greedily about their good fortune.
However, reports such as these have a very serious downside, and may end up doing more harm than good.
Ethnic statistics may open up the potential for everyone to claim that they are being marginalised, and to demand government jobs without regard to merit or qualification.
In any case, many tribes are really just colonial constructions that the imperial powers used to understand, subjugate and exploit “natives”.
Many of the so-called tribes are actually a conglomeration of neighbouring ethnic communities with similar culture and similar-sounding languages.
Examples of such ethnic constructions will necessarily include the Luhya and the Kalenjin, but many other “tribes” share this attribute.
Is it possible for the NCIC to release statistics for, say, the number of Kisas, Marakwets, Maragolis, Sengwers or Terik in government?
Also, during the last census, many Kenyans indicated that their tribe was “Kenyan”.
Can the NCIC release information on what proportion of “Kenyans” hold positions in the “Government of Kenya?”
If this information is missing, wouldn’t this only feed the perception that they are victims of blatant discrimination?
Finally, it would be interesting to know the method used to collect information on tribe in the civil service.
The Public Service Commission’s own application form (PSC 2 Revised 2007) does not have any item on the applicant’s tribe (except for “languages spoken”), so it is a fair assumption that the information was largely based on conjecture and not fact.
Dr Lukoye Atwoli is a consultant psychiatrist and lecturer at Moi University’s school of medicine www.lukoyeatwoli.com
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Mental illness not same thing as mental disability
By LUKOYE ATWOLI
Sunday Nation 10 April 2011
In the past few days, the ministry of Special Programmes and the agency responsible for administering programmes for disabled persons have engaged in a publicity blitz to demonstrate just how much they are doing for disabled people in Kenya.
This was in response to a string of demonstrations and media campaigns alleging that the government was sitting on funds meant for people with mental disabilities.
Mental health in Kenya was recently thrust into the limelight when the international news channel CNN aired a documentary on mental health in Kenya titled “Locked up and forgotten”.
This documentary exposed the level of neglect that the mentally ill and people with mental disabilities face in this country.
The net result of this media blitz has been a certain amount of confusion on the real meanings of terms such as mental illness, mental disability and mental handicap.
An impression has been created that mentally ill people are also disabled or handicapped, and should benefit from the disability funds.
While I have no problem with mentally ill persons being supported by the government one way or the other, it is important to ensure that the designations they get will not result in further confusion and stigma.
Mental illness, often used interchangeably with mental disorder, refers to a change in an individual’s feelings, thoughts or behaviour that causes significant distress or interferes with important areas of functioning.
Sometimes people with mental illness constitute a threat to themselves or to others, and need inpatient treatment in hospital.
The important thing to note here is that mental illness, just like other illnesses, can be managed in a way that allows the individual to go back to as near normal functioning as possible.
Common mental illnesses include depression and anxiety disorders, while the more dramatic ones include schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.
Mental disability, or mental handicap as it is sometimes referred to, deals with conditions that often begin in early childhood and interfere with an individual’s ability to express themselves or adapt to their environment adequately for their own survival.
These include conditions such as mental retardation, pervasive developmental disorders (including autism), and learning disabilities including problems with reading, writing and calculation.
From these simple definitions, it should be clear that mental illness (or disorder) is not the same thing as mental disability or mental handicap.
Mental illness may affect a person with previously normal functioning and, with treatment, many are able to regain their previous level of functioning.
Mental disability or handicap, on the other hand, begins early in childhood, and the best management modalities focus on helping them to be as independent as possible in their own lives.
Importantly, mental illness does not necessarily constitute disability. Many people with mental illness are living very fulfilling lives, and playing important roles in the lives of their families, communities and the society at large.
It is, therefore, necessary for those engaged in the discourse on the rights of persons with disabilities to clarify that the term “mental disability” does not in any way include people with such mental illnesses as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and even alcohol dependence.
Dr Lukoye Atwoli is a consultant psychiatrist and lecturer at Moi University’s school of medicine www.lukoyeatwoli.com
Sunday Nation 10 April 2011
In the past few days, the ministry of Special Programmes and the agency responsible for administering programmes for disabled persons have engaged in a publicity blitz to demonstrate just how much they are doing for disabled people in Kenya.
This was in response to a string of demonstrations and media campaigns alleging that the government was sitting on funds meant for people with mental disabilities.
Mental health in Kenya was recently thrust into the limelight when the international news channel CNN aired a documentary on mental health in Kenya titled “Locked up and forgotten”.
This documentary exposed the level of neglect that the mentally ill and people with mental disabilities face in this country.
The net result of this media blitz has been a certain amount of confusion on the real meanings of terms such as mental illness, mental disability and mental handicap.
An impression has been created that mentally ill people are also disabled or handicapped, and should benefit from the disability funds.
While I have no problem with mentally ill persons being supported by the government one way or the other, it is important to ensure that the designations they get will not result in further confusion and stigma.
Mental illness, often used interchangeably with mental disorder, refers to a change in an individual’s feelings, thoughts or behaviour that causes significant distress or interferes with important areas of functioning.
Sometimes people with mental illness constitute a threat to themselves or to others, and need inpatient treatment in hospital.
The important thing to note here is that mental illness, just like other illnesses, can be managed in a way that allows the individual to go back to as near normal functioning as possible.
Common mental illnesses include depression and anxiety disorders, while the more dramatic ones include schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.
Mental disability, or mental handicap as it is sometimes referred to, deals with conditions that often begin in early childhood and interfere with an individual’s ability to express themselves or adapt to their environment adequately for their own survival.
These include conditions such as mental retardation, pervasive developmental disorders (including autism), and learning disabilities including problems with reading, writing and calculation.
From these simple definitions, it should be clear that mental illness (or disorder) is not the same thing as mental disability or mental handicap.
Mental illness may affect a person with previously normal functioning and, with treatment, many are able to regain their previous level of functioning.
Mental disability or handicap, on the other hand, begins early in childhood, and the best management modalities focus on helping them to be as independent as possible in their own lives.
Importantly, mental illness does not necessarily constitute disability. Many people with mental illness are living very fulfilling lives, and playing important roles in the lives of their families, communities and the society at large.
It is, therefore, necessary for those engaged in the discourse on the rights of persons with disabilities to clarify that the term “mental disability” does not in any way include people with such mental illnesses as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and even alcohol dependence.
Dr Lukoye Atwoli is a consultant psychiatrist and lecturer at Moi University’s school of medicine www.lukoyeatwoli.com
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