When Mzee Wilson Kilonzo Musembi
and Mama Rhoda Koki Kilonzo had their second baby 56 years ago and named him
Mutula, little did they know that the young boy who had to repeat class one for
lack of fifteen shillings in school fees, would be a successful lawyer and
legal advisor to Kenya’s president.
Mutula’s turning point came one
afternoon when he was twelve years old. He returned home from school to find
his parents and grandmother in tears because the area chief, David Musyoka, had
brought a judge to demarcate the Musembi’s family land. “Then I didn’t know the
difference between a judge and a magistrate,” Mutula says. “When I asked what
was happening, an uncle told me that the chief wanted the judge to mark off my
parents’ land for him.”
This incident happened during the
same period that his father was having a land succession problem with his
stepbrother. Mutula’s grandfather, who was polygamous, had the land shared
equally among his wives — a decision that Mzee Musembi’s stepbrothers never
agreed with. Consequently, one of them unilaterally decided to reallocate
himself a section of Mzee Musembi’s land.
“At that age, I still could not understand how
someone could just disregard all the traditional and cultural norms and take
our land,” Mutula says. “I made a decision there and then to study law in order
to understand the reasoning that judge had used to give away our land.”
Mutula believes that the concept
of universal ownership of land does not arise: “Land is a God given right. The
land history goes all the way to the biblical times when God promised land to
the Israelites.”
Quoting Mark 15:42, Mutula refers
to Joseph of Arimathea, who went boldly before the presence of Pilate to ask
for Jesus’ body for burial in his land.
Mutula detests the land laws that
are in place because they were intended to protect the colonial regime, a
purpose that is no longer applicable. He gives an example where one can easily
lose a legal battle if he or she fails to transfer the land within 90 days of
payment for it. He hopes for land laws that would accord land the sanctity it
deserves. “Land is one of the resources that keep the community together,” he
says. “When freedom fighters took to arms against the colonialists, the fight
was for land.”
Mutula says land is an asset that
can break a nation. “The late president [Mzee Jomo] Kenyatta is the only person
who understood the value of land,” he says. “He negotiated with the settlers
for a system where the British government would fund the Kenyan government to
buy the occupied lands through the Resettlement Trust Fund.” If not checked,
Mutula warns that more chaos would arise and this time it would be worse than
the wars of the 1950’s.
Interestingly, after admission as
an advocate, he never legally pursued the land issue with his area chief, but
did and won against his cousin. “I did this for so many other mothers out there
in polygamous families who get denied their rights to inherit land because they
have fewer children or something like that,” he says. “But even after wining
against my cousin, I still paid him for the land and the coffee trees … In
African culture, family is very important.”
Mutula however later bought the
section that was right in front of his father’s house from the chief. “My
greatest satisfaction is seeing that my grandmother, father and mother are
finally buried in the land they all shed tears for when the judge gave it
away,” he says.
The tin roofed house he first
built for his grandmother (the grandmother was the first beneficiary of his
private practice) has since been converted to a mausoleum that holds a
collection of Kamba artifacts.
His pet preoccupation for a long
time has been buying land from almost every part of the country just to prove
he can own it, a deep desire to acquire something he lacked when he was growing
up. While still on the things he lacked as a young boy, Mutula recalls how he
packed a pair of black shoes for his first day at Machakos Boys’ School. “The
invitation letter said to carry a pair of black shoes, so my father bought me a
pair and we packed it,” he says. “I went to Machakos Boys’ barefooted and the
pair of shoes were packed in the wooden box … now I have a collection of
shoes.”
The story of “from rags to
riches” would not apply here. Neither would Mutula fit the profile of those who
were born with silver spoons in their mouths. Yet, he has made a life for
himself and his family. “I had a purpose to live and not just to exist, a
purpose to succeed in life,” he says.
Even though he had a sporadic
kind of education in Mbooni Primary School and Machakos High School due to a
lack of school fees, which was caused by his father’s alcoholism, Mutula
managed to join the University of Dar es Salaam in 1969.
“My father resorted to alcohol
after losing part of his land to the chief and his stepbrother; my future
depended on my father quitting alcohol,” he says. For this wish, he is forever
grateful to David Ngozi and James Ndambuki who as the chairman and secretary
respectively of the local coffee cooperative hired his father as a guard at the
coffee factory. “Being an employee of the cooperative made my father stop
drinking.”
His entry at the university
started in a controversial mode. “Julius Nyerere’s government being socialist
decided to introduce a unique classification for graduates,” he says. “They
decided to introduce an alphabetical grading system as opposed to numerical
classification of degrees.”
Mutula, with his classmates,
petitioned the university administration against the move. After much pressure
on both the administration and the government, the decision was suspended for
his lot. “My strategy was to beat the socialism grading system … so I had to
get nothing less than a First Class,” he says.
True to his strategy, he
graduated with a First Class Honors’ Degree in Law — the first in the East
African region. “I proudly put the First Class Honors title after my names
because it reminds me of my first major controversial issue with authority,” he
says.
Armed with the First Class
degree, he joined the Kenya School of Law. “Despite Kenya having attained
independence ten years earlier, some professions including law were preserved
for a few. The school was known to fail indigenous students. I wasn’t going to
let them fail me.”
He came top of his class at the
school. When asked by the school administration what gift he would want to be
given, he opted for a bookshelf because he planned to start his own practice.
That was the only year when the gift was never awarded at the ceremony because
the shelf was too big to be carried into the room. His classmates at the School
of Law included Justices Githinji, Omolo and Aluoch, and his cousin Justice
Philip Waki.
The year is 1975. Two cousins,
fresh from Kenya School of Law debate on the fastest way to earn money to buy
cars. One opts for employment while the other opens a law firm. Thirty years
down the line, Mutula tells that story with glee: “I told Justice Waki that
cars would not get us our own practice, but a firm would buy us cars”. Waki
bought his car within a few weeks of employment through his employer’s loan
program. Meanwhile, Mutula struggled to establish his own law firm.
Mutula had saved most of the 300
shillings allowance he was receiving from the school. “The two law firms I did
pupilage with specialized in conveyance and criminal matters and were also
paying me some money,” he says. “So I was ready to set the law practice.”
With his savings, he approached
Gerishon Kirima who was then a realtor and owned several buildings in Nairobi.
He rented an office space overlooking Jevanjee Gardens at Kirima House for 250
shillings a month. Mutula then bought an ex-military Facit typewriter from an
auction for another 250 shillings. “My father bought me a desk. I had faith
that I was going to sustain the office.” And so Kilonzo and Company Advocates
was born.
Comparing his currently spacious
office to his first single room at Kirima House, Mutula recalls how the desk
that cost his father 400 shillings at an auction had to be placed into the room
before the partitioning so that it would fit. He adds, “I hired a clerk whom I
paid 400 shillings a month and earned a further commission for cases he brought
in.”
Mutula made 12,600 shillings in
cash and another 50,000 shillings in pending payments within the first month.
“And that was the beginning of my good fortunes.”
He bought his first car, a Datsun
120Y from D.T. Dobie after three months of practice. “I paid for it in cash,
but I had to leave it there for weeks because I didn’t have a driving license,”
he says. His father thought he was mad when he sent him a letter requesting him
to get his son a driver.
Eight months into practice,
Mutula says he had made his first one million shillings: “I was a millionaire.
A million I had worked so hard for. That was the month I bought my first
house.” He has a strong attachment to the ex-military typewriter and the desk
both now sitting at his Machakos office. “They helped me make millions of
shillings that I have invested in property throughout the country.”
In 1977, Mutula met Hosea
Kiplagat, a nephew to retired president Daniel Moi. Kiplagat was buying land
from a group of Mbooni miners based in Taveta who Mutula was representing.
Two years later, Kiplagat called
on him again, this time with a different message. “He told me to have my goatee
shaved and to get myself a new suit for an appointment the following day,”
Mutula says, He didn’t know who he was due to meet. “Being a good boy I
obliged. I did not know much about him apart from the fact that he had bought
land from my clients two years earlier, but that was not an issue to worry
about. I was an advocate and was ready to meet anybody.”
The next morning Kiplagat simply
told him to follow in his car. “By that time I had bought by first Mercedes
Benz,” he says. “I reasoned that since I had to look more presentable for
whoever I was meeting … why not drive my classy car!”
He followed Kiplagat’s car all
the way to Kabarnet Gardens. President Moi’s residence. “It only occurred to me
that I was at Moi’s residence the moment I saw the G.S.U. personnel manning the
gate. At first I was nervous, but when I saw the personnel waving me in, the
nervousness changed to a feeling of importance and recognition.”
That was Mutula’s first meeting
with Moi. “The meeting was quite casual,” Mutula says. “We had tea as he gave
me my first brief. I oversaw a sale of land for him in the southern part of
Nairobi. He made it clear to me that he wanted everything he does to be legally
and morally right. I promised to do my best.”
The land transaction for Moi was
successfully completed. “I sent him my fee note which he promptly paid. The
important thing I remember is when he told me of how proud he was to see
indigenous advocates working so hard.”
That was the beginning of
representing the most prominent personality in Kenya.
During the twenty-six years
Mutula has been one of Moi’s personal lawyers, their relationship moved from
that of client/lawyer to that of family friends. “He is a great person,” Mutula
says, “He is God fearing. I cannot remember any single time that my family ever
visited him that he ate any food without saying a prayer. And I would tell you
that there is no single legal advice I ever gave him that he disregarded.
“I have learnt more from him than
I did from various schools I ever attended.” When Mutula invited Moi in
February 1997 to officially open Utangwa African Inland Church, which Mutula
had built for God in appreciation for the blessings he had received, Moi, after
officially opening the church building, donated seats for the same.
The church is just a stone’s
throw away from Mutula’s lower primary classroom at Utangwa Primary School. The
classroom, though still standing and in poor state, is no longer in use. On the
board in the staffroom wall still stands the school’s motto, mission and aim:
“Hard Work Pays.” “Education for Knowledge, Friendliness and Responsibility for
the Success of All the Pupils.” “Provision of High Quality Teaching and
Learning of All Pupils.” Mutula has facilitated the construction of new
classrooms for the school.
Philanthropy, especially to
churches, women’s and youth groups’ projects are some of the things Mutula has
learned from retired president Moi.Mutula’s occasional visit to Mbooni is spent
attending to villagers who stream into his compound with various problems
ranging from school fees for their children to legal issues.
One neighbor explained how they
always knew of his arrival. “Hapa kwake ni mlima na hatuna stima. Mzee akifika
lazima genereta iwakishwe na tunaona taa. Hapo tunapigiana simu.” (This village
of ours is hilly and without electricity. Whenever he comes the generator must
be put on and we see the light. There we call each other.)
“This place is always open to
visitors.” another villager told this writer. “Mzee welcomes everyone. Even if
he is not here, you will always get a cup of tea.”
For Mutula, Moi showed him his
fatherly care and love when he personally called him over a powdery substance
he received. “The police never investigated the matter thoroughly,” he says.
“Even my personal doctor could not get their cooperation.
“Moi personally called me. He
even taught me how to handle my letters since the two powders were delivered in
forms of letters. He showed the same care when I lost my parents; he called to
inform me that he would attend the burial when my mother passed away.”
Mutula received the mysterious
powder that he suspects was meant to kill him in December 2004. His brother,
who opened a similar mailing earlier, is still suffering from an ailment that
medics have been unable to diagnose.
Police headquarters, upon
enquiring on how they have handled the incidents promised to call this writer
back. However, by the time of compiling this profile, they still had not called
back.
There is more Mutula learned from
Moi. He developed a love for the environment after seeing trees at Moi’s
Kabarak farm. His Mbooni compound has a variety of indigenous and exotic trees
and flowers.
His main house is built on one of
the many hilly spots of Mbooni and is surrounded with several permanent water
springs and streams. “People think that the entire Kamba land is dry and
[populated by] people who rely on relief all year round,” Mutula says. “But not
in Mbooni area.” He showed this writer the green vegetation of the area with
manual cultivation that takes place around the year; Mutula has embarked on a
campaign to maintain the greenery for his people.
His latest project has been
acquiring a parcel of land and turning it into a private forest. He acquired a
12-acre blue gum forest and replaced the original blue gum trees with cypress.
He explained that the blue gum, which were originally from Australia, were
meant for swampy areas, but the colonial government planted them everywhere
without considering the consequences: “…A single tree of blue gum consumes
eight gallons of water a day. They dry up the land. If we do nothing about
them, our people will continue competing for water with these trees.”
In his private 12-acre forest, he
has allowed some villagers to cultivate food-crops among the trees. “They take
care of my trees that give them water and at the same time are able to feed
their families through the Shamba System,” he says.
He buys the seedlings from
various youth groups who have tree nurseries. “The youths deliver and plant the
seedlings,” he says. “They ensure that the planting is done properly because I
only pay for healthy trees three weeks after planting.”
The private forest borders the
Kikima market and would have made a good spot for commercial buildings. He has
no regret for converting the area into a forest: “I am helping my people by
maintaining the environment, and at the same time, the trees, when mature would
be of commercial value to me.”
At 56, Mutula looks younger than
most men his age. His normal workday begins at 4:00 a.m. when he wakes up,
bathes and dresses before proceeding to have his breakfast of two boiled eggs,
pawpaw and fresh lemon juice at his home library. He gets to his corner house
office at 5:30 a.m. to read, and replies to mail that requires attention before
going to the gym for an hour’s workout. He leaves his office at 8:30 p.m. for
dinner at home with his family.
The pattern, however, changes
when he is in his Mbooni home. “There is no electricity here so my early
morning readings must be by a gas lamp,” he says. “The generator only works in
the evening.” Whenever he travels to Mbooni, he carries with him at least two
novels.
Being a nominated Member of
Parliament has also interfered with this pattern. He has to be in parliament on
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and the whole day on Wednesday.
Wednesday evenings has further
been interfered with since he started cohosting a TV political talk show on a
local network.
The recently concluded Goldenberg
Judicial Commission of Inquiry tops the list of Mutula’s most memorable cases.
The inquiry, he confesses, consumed most of his time and the only regret he has
is that the government formed it in a rush in a bid to show that it was
fighting corruption.
He admits that the country
undoubtedly lost enormous resources through Goldenberg, because the Narc
administration did not want a legal audit. To prove that a legal audit was
missing, Mutula refers to the terms of reference of the commission that had to
be reviewed midway.
[The National Rainbow Coalition
(Narc) came to power in the general election of December 2002, ending nearly 40
years of rule by the Kenya African National Union (Kanu). Headed first by
President Jomo Kenyatta, and then from 1978 by President Daniel Moi, Kanu had
been in power since 1963, the year Kenya gained independence from Britain.
Kenya’s current president is Mwai Kibaki.]
The second case was representing
his cousin Justice Philip Waki at the tribunal set up by President Kibaki to
investigate judges accused of corruption.
“I represented him not because he
is my cousin but because I have known him since childhood and know that he
could not be guilty of the charges that were leveled against him,” Mutula says.
“Justice Waki is like most individuals who have been victimized without being
given the chance to have their say. The judges should not have been treated in
the manner in which they were.”
He says that the judiciary should
be respected at all cost. Mutula cites an example where a cabinet minister
disregarded a court order when the government took over the Kenyatta
International Conference Centre from the opposition party Kanu.
“It is the judiciary that we turn
to whenever we have been failed at all levels,” he says. “If the executive does
not have respect for the judiciary, where would the common person turn to when
they are offended?”
The third case involved the
Kiambu General Transport Agency — a company belonging to the minister in charge
of special projects in the office of the president, Njenga Karume — and Kenya
Breweries Ltd. (K.B.L.). Mutula was approached by K.B.L. to handle the appeal
after a High Court judge awarded Karume 241,586,711.58 Kenya shillings.
The appeal was being heard by
three Court of Appeal judges: Justice Akilano Akiwumi (now retired), Justice
Evans Gicheru (now chief justice) and Justice Abdul Lakha.
“Midway through the appeal
hearing, Karume approached me and offered me 60 million shillings to help him
win,” Mutula says. “I was representing K.B.L. and the only way I could help him
was to misrepresent my clients. How could I do that? I work with my daughter
and son, what moral teaching would I be giving them if I could accept financial
reward for misrepresentation?”
He stressed that all the years he
has been in the bar; he has never received any form of reward so as to
misrepresent any client: “I became a lawyer because I believed in law and I
would therefore not be party to abuse of the same law. So I told him no!”
Karume didn’t give up. He went to
Moi to put pressure on Mutula. “President Moi called me and said ‘Mutula saidia
huyu rafiki yetu Karume,’” Mutula says. (Mutula, help this friend of ours
Karume.)
“President Moi knew that there is
no deal I could have with anybody against my clients and he must have wanted to
see what I would do,” he continues. “I could not tell him that there was
nothing I could do, but simply agreed. I have represented president Moi is
several cases and he knew that I would not take instructions on any case from
parties that are not my clients in any particular case.”
According to Mutula, Karume’s
offer came after his attempt to strike a deal with K.B.L. chairman Jeremiah
Kiereini failed. The chairman reportedly advised him that the matter was
already with the lawyers and that was when he approached Mutula.
K.B.L., through Kilonzo and
Company Advocates, offered the Kiambu General Transport Agency 50 million
shillings in an out of court settlement (10 million less than what he had
offered to Mutula earlier). The Kiambu politician flatly rejected it.
The matter went ahead for a full
hearing and Karume lost. Justice Akilano Akiwumi while dismissing the appeal
described Karume’s evidence as ‘‘wishy washy and unhelpful to the court.”
In 2003, the Ringera Integrity
Committee accused Justice Abdul Lakha of receiving 15 million shillings from
Njenga Karume on the matter. Lakha opted to retire without clearing his name.
Court records show that in the
appeal, Lakha was the only one who ruled to sustain the high court award to
Karume. Since he opted to resign without having his name cleared by the
tribunal, it would be assumed rightly that he must have received the claimed payment
from Karume.
At the bottom of Mutula’s
memorable moments is a 1978 case he considered to be a service to his Mbooni
people. He represented Mbooni Ranching Cooperative Society against Joseph
Mbugua Gichaga.
According to his former teacher,
David Ngozi, who is now 84 years old (ironically, this is the same person who
hired Mutula’s father as a guard at the coffee factory), Gichaga had rented the
society’s building in Mombasa’s Moi Avenue. “He was our tenant for many years.
He approached some of our officials to allow him to renovate the building,”
Mzee Ngozi recalls.
“Ignorantly, the renovation
documents he gave us to sign were actually for change of ownership to himself …
without any reservations, we rushed to the only lawyer we could trust, our own
Mutula wa Kilonzo,” Mzee Ngozi states with delight.
Once the then young Mutula
launched a legal proceeding on behalf of the society, Joseph Gichaga made his
own counter claim for the building. “But seeing that he could not win the case,
Gichaga approached Mutula and attempted to tell him that the hearing had been
rescheduled,” recalls James Ndambuki, secretary of the local coffee
cooperative.
The court ruled in favor of the
society and the building is still owned by Mbooni Ranching Cooperative Society
27 years after the legal victory.
How did this successful lawyer
end up in parliament?
Mutula says Kanu first asked him
to contest for a political seat in 1992, which he declined. After the first
multi-party elections, he was once again offered a parliamentary seat as a
nominated M.P., which he again declined.
The same trend followed during
the 1997 general elections. “I never considered myself as a politician. I could
not see how I would fit politics into my schedule,” Mutula says.
He found himself however getting
more involved in politics after Kiss 100 FM managing director Patrick Quarcoo
invited him in 2002 to be a panelist in the station’s Sunday radio talk show,
Crossfire. “In the show, I represented and defended Kanu,” he says. “The show
required a lot of sacrifices. Whatever my schedule, I had to be in Nairobi
every Sunday afternoon.” He liked the show. “The freedom that was there allowed
us to speak our minds without expecting to hear that the radio station was shut
down.”
After the 2002 general elections,
Kanu nominated him as an M.P. “Uhuru must have been told by Kanu officials not
to ask me,” he says. “He just presented my name. Once it was there, I took it
as a challenge.” He continued representing Kanu on the talk show.
When Kanu called for its elections,
Mutula showed interest in the chair of the party. The other contenders for the
seat were former cabinet ministers, Nicholas Biwott and Uhuru Kenyatta.
He abruptly withdrew from the
chairmanship race however in support for Uhuru Kenyatta just a day before the
elections at Kasarani.
Though he did not confirm this, a
source within the Uhuru Camp confided to this writer that his withdrawal and
subsequent support for Uhuru was negotiated by Hosea Kiplagat at an exclusive
hotel in the Milimani area of Nairobi.
The source said, “the moment we
saw him arrive for the meeting, we knew right then that we could count on his
support. We were only afraid that he would not turn up. The trend had been
worked out. Mutula was being seen as a spoiler for Uhuru. Kiplagat was the
point-man and he was to convince him.”
A Kanu delegate from Mbooni who
also talked with this writer had a different reason: “Mutula saw his stars
going down when some delegates demanded money from him. He declined to give out
any money while we were receiving money from both Uhuru and Biwott. Who would
vote him if he appears to be mean with his money?”
After joining the Uhuru camp,
Mutula came face-to-face with what he calls “high-level political corruption.”
“I could not believe it, here was
the official leader of the Opposition, an alternate president of this country,
in the presence of all his supporters including myself dishing out thousands of
shillings to delegates in full view of journalists with their cameras rolling,”
he says. “How can you expect any election to be fair after that?
“I was glad I pulled-out when I
did. Biwott was giving out money and so was Uhuru.” With footage of political
bribery to back him up, he says, “I feel like I have failed in my process of
attempting to revitalize Kanu … I feel really terrible about it.”
This is the reason why he called
Quarcoo after the Kanu elections to withdraw from Crossfire. “I was
representing and defending the party in the talk show. What was I going to
defend after what I saw? Was I going to defend a system that corrupts voters?”
He blames the media for exposing
corruption selectively: “The reporters were there and no single network
reported on these cases of bribery. In fact one editor called me to inform me
that the footage would never be aired by any network.”
Being an M.P. has also
enlightened him in so many ways. To him, the ninth parliament has not achieved
any major feat. “How can one justify a system where good legislation is thrown
out as was the case with the environment bill, just because one or two tribes
are fighting each other politically,” he asks.
“The only way legislature can
check and control the executive is by speaking with one voice … A system where
M.P.s take home a half a million shillings while unemployment is at its peak is
insulting to the electorate.”
On the controversial Constituency
Development Fund (C.D.F.), he says, “the concept is good and viable. But Kenya
being a multi-part democracy, each M.P. has at least an opponent in another
political party. Giving M.P.s powers to control this fund is like giving them a
tool to fight their opponents.
“This is public’s money and
constituents deserve to use it, but C.D.F. is like someone taking your money
from your pocket, giving it back to you and you turn around and say ‘thanks,’”
he says. “These moneys are pegged to the G.D.P., but put under the control of
the M.P.s to use to fight their opponents.”
With the abuse so far witnessed
and reported by the media he urges his fellow M.P.s to enact laws to guard
against further abuses. “But this would not be likely since all M.P.s apart
from the nominated ones are direct beneficiaries,” he says.
There is much he would like to
see changed in parliament: “Most of this is comprehensively addressed in the
draft constitution that is now being toyed about with.”
Giving examples of various
Parliamentary Select Committees (P.S.C.s), he says, “the P.S.C.s are based on
inadequate rules … The rules have been designed to give M.P.s some supernatural
powers … the way they handle witnesses appearing before them is crazy. They
overrule the laws of natural justice. The right to question.”
He decries the manner in which
senior and sometimes more educated public servants are literally insulted by
these M.P.s (some with limited education) under the disguise of parliamentary
powers and privileges.
On the parliamentary committee
formed to enquire into the death of the late minister for foreign affairs, Dr.
Robert Ouko, since he represented Moi and Abraham Kiptanui (the former state
house comptroller), he declined to give his opinion as an advocate since doing
that would be an abuse of a parliamentary process.
However, he gave his personal
opinion as a citizen: “I have reasons to believe that the committee was
compromised to tailor-make its findings. The report would be a further cover-up
for the death of the late minister. The worrying thing is that Dr. Ouko was
murdered and whoever was responsible is still out there.
“Would anybody wonder why Paul
Muite, a distinguished advocate, had to resign from the committee? Something
must have been going very wrong and he did not want to be part of it. I won’t
be surprised if the report recommends further investigations.” (The interview
took place weeks before Gor Sungu tabled his report in parliament. The report
recommended further investigations as Mutula had predicted.)
He predicts the 2007 general
elections to be a watershed: “It would be a great fight between tribalism and
nationalism. There would be tribal coalitions in 2007 other than of parties.
The gains of 40 years have been lost in two years.”
He appeals to the youth who are
the majority to reject the preoccupation of politicians with tribalism. “Choose
leaders that can reach beyond ethnic boundaries, leaders who respect academic
freedom, research and development. Leaders who are issue oriented not those who
cannot wait to appear on TV saying a lot of nothing.”
He further appeals to the youth
to avoid drugs and keep away from H.I.V./AIDS.
On the proposed Suppression of
Terrorism Bill, he stresses that it’s unacceptable since the bill is designed
to violate civil liberty and tailor-made to suit United States interests.
“George Bush may have been elected by the Americans, but his means of fighting
terror isn’t universally acceptable,” he says. “Personally, I am completely
opposed to terrorism and I agree with the desires to eliminate it, but I do not
agree and accept the means being planned. The throwing away of half a century
struggle for civil liberty is such an expensive price to pay.”
He adds, “the new means of
fighting terror has degenerated into a religious war — Christians against
Muslims, which is not good for our country.”
Does he miss Moi’s leadership?
“He served his term. Even with President Kibaki’s weaknesses, President Moi
served his term and we have to move on. I would end up with bitterness, which
is a weakness if I were to wish him back. As much as we may wish him back, the
law is quite clear. The country should let him rest in his retirement.”
Mutula has embarked on a crusade
for the enactment of a comprehensive Freedom of Information Act. “The media is
the only hope this country has to check on errant politicians,” he says. “I am
ready to offer free legal services to Media Council and Kenya Union of
Journalists in the drafting of the bill.”
Things have not been easy though
for him. “We all have price tags on our necks. Narc government has tried to
silence me but my independence cannot allow such a move to succeed. I shall die
fighting for what I believe in.”
Mutula showed this writer
documents from the Kenya Revenue Authority (K.R.A.) attaching his parliamentary
salaries and allowances over some unpaid hundreds of millions in taxes. “They
have attached my allowances from parliament making me the only M.P. earning
almost a half a million every month yet carrying nothing home. Everything goes
to K.R.A.”
He claims that he has been
approached by certain cabinet ministers with offers to waive the K.R.A. claims
in return for his cooperation with the government. “I have said no to that,” he
says. “I have decided to let them have fun with my parliamentary allowances,
but for the public, I’ll continue advocating for good governance.”
©Tom Hollum
June 29, 2005
