A moment to frown for Amos Wako?

Enigma or Conundrum? This Man Amos Wako

Updated on: Thursday, June, 30, 2011 Story by: JOSH MEMENTO

On May 13th 2011, Amos Wako celebrated his 20 years as Attorney General. In exactly 58 days he will leave office. The ever-smiling government advisor has the title has his second name. Later, at the end of next month, Wako will be celebrating his 66th birthday. As required by the Constitution Amos Wako's tenure in office is expected to end on August 28th, 2011. Appointed on May 13th, 1991 Amos Wako is among the longest serving attorney generals. He is one man vindicated by admirers and vilified by haters with the same measure. Astonishingly the bespectacled man with preference for striped suits, has always found a reason to smile. Infectious his smile is so much that he has no dull moment, even when everybody else is crying. However, let us take stock of this man Wako.

During his tenure, Moi government bowed and buckled under public pressure to transit the system of government from single party system to multiparty democracy in December 1991. Indeed being barely six months in office Wako scored high in the Repeal of Section 2A that had made Kenya a defacto one party state. However, it was the divided opposition which played in the hands of Moi that aborted the quest to end tyrannic system of governance.

Fast forward to 2002. Amos Wako chaperoned Narc government takeover from KANU. The smiling AG camouflaged into the colours of Kibaki reformist manifesto. Indeed, he become one of the biggest carryover from the Moi regime that Kibaki inherited. Amos Wako is no doubt a brilliant lawyer. Wako graduated with Bachelors of Law from University of Dar es Salaam 1969, Bachelor of Science in Economics, University of London with Specialization in International Affairs (1975) and Masters in Law specializing in Comparative Constitutional Law, International Economic Law and Law of Treaties from University of London in 1978.

One of the biggest milestones of Wako's career would be midwifery and delivery of the new Constitution. Indeed, as the government and president's legal advisor, Wako must have done his assignment to the extent of delivery of the new law. But this was not without gaffes and goofs. In 2005 he tried unsuccessfully to ram his version of constitution down the throats of Kenyans. Popularly known as Wako Draft, his version was defeated in the Banana-Orange charade that led to birth of ODM (Orange Democratic Movement). The Banana philosophy failed miserably.

Wako is known to have the ability to assume the colour of prevailing regime system. He worked under three UN chiefs starting with Javier Perez de Cuellar, in 1982 as African Board of Trustees member of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. Wako worked under UN chief Boutros Boutros Ghali as Special Envoy to East Timor. When Boutros was removed from office, Wako struck similar working relationship with the successor Kofi Annan as a member of Eminent Persons to Algeria. Wako worked under the hated Moi government and comparatively liked Kibaki government with equal measure of success. In fact, his tenure has been accentuated with controversy and blatant indifference.

Before being appointed AG Amos Wako was serving as Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights on the Question of Summary or Arbitrary executions. Ironically, the person who succeeded him Prof Phillip Alston condemned the AG as having condoned extra judicial killings. It was during his tenure in office that Kenya degenerated into a country of land clashes from 1992, 1997 climaxing in 2007/8 post election violence that killed more than 1000 people. But instead of fighting for justice of victims and fair trial of suspects, Wako tried to defeat the process at the International Criminal Court through proxies like admissibility and deferment of the cases. His efforts seems to augur well will his objectives that he has striven to achieve for two-decades.

It was during his tenure that the government was hit by the largest financial scandals. Behind the infectious smile of 'Baba Julius and Deborah', Wako is a shrewd, intelligent and calculating master of inertia. His smile seems more of a facade hiding the true intention of connivance. With a Bachelor of Science in Economics he knew well how to add numbers and also how to fake others. Or how else do you explain a man of this brilliance burying his head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich as largest financial scandals in history of this country, took place. During his tenure in 1991 Goldenberg Scandal hit the country, and no prominent personality has been held accountable for the plunder of public coffers. Fast forward in 2003, Anglo Leasing Scandal emerged and no person has so far been held to account for the misdeeds of the government officials. In 2008 Tritton Scandal and Kenya lost more billions. Maize Scandal followed. More financial scandals are still emerging with latest being plunder of Free Primary Education money. And Amos, smiles them away as being cases 'without enough evidence to sustain a prosecution.'

Even as Lawyers Betty Murungi, Phillip Murgor, Fred Ojiambo and Prof Githu Muigai names make rounds, the obnoxious omnipresence and omniscience of the person one of them may succeed, pervades minds of Kenyans and the failure of the office and its holder are self telling.

Amos Wako bestrode corridors of justice like colossus; but along the way, he trampled on the rights of people he was expected to protect through a fair justice system. Indeed, he performed fairly well in protecting the interests of his masters who plundered the economy with abandon at the expense of Kenyans.

However, more worrying is the scotched-earth policy that Wako seems to be using in the implementation of New Constitution. The Chairman of Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution Charles Nyachae has blamed the AG for the slow pace of enactment of relevant legislations. So is the Director of Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission Prof Patrick PLO Lumumba.

The State Law Office has become pariah under his tenure. It has become a liability to Kenyan people. Failure to tame the dragon of corruption will hang on Wako's neck like the Albatross after his retirement. Whether his conscience condemns him, it is only he who can tell; but he knows pretty well that Kenyans are fed up with his smile and we do not need to smile at corruption, impunity and lawlessness in the New Kenya.

Email: joshmemento@yahoo.com