ADDIS ABABA, Tuesday

Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika is likely to take over African Union chairmanship from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi next January, African Union sources have said.

An African Union senior official told the Nation in Addis Ababa President Mutharika is preparing to take over AU’s rotating chairmanship of 53 member states organisation.

Only Malawi and Lesotho bid for the AU chairmanship which changes annually and was supposed to be taken over by a southern Africa country for 2010.

President Mutharika’s chairmanship was endorsed by Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) foreign affairs ministers gathered in DR Congo last month.

The African Union’s next summit is scheduled in Addis Ababa from January 25 to February 2, 2010.

Gaddafi will make his final international appearance as AU chairman at the UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen Denmark next month.

As chairman, Gaddafi defended Somali pirates in his first week as AU chairman early this year.

Gaddafi also raised African Union staff salary on the third day of his chairmanship.

Foreign investigators are camping in Eldoret ahead of the arrival of International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Thursday.

The investigators have been in Eldoret for the last four months. They have been taking pictures and seeking information about Eldoret and its environs.

Of special interest to them has been the burnt down Kenya Assemblies of God Church in Kiambaa Village about six kilometres from the town where 35 people were burnt alive during last year’s post-election violence.

Each group of detectives leaves the town after completing its tasks with others taking over after a few days.

Five detectives are currently renting six rooms at a hotel in the centre of the town. In the group are three men and two women.

The overall team leader has been identified as Mr Steve Collins who is said to be in Djibouti and he could not be reached for comment on his cellphone.

Eldoret East district commissioner Charles Mukele said he was not aware of the presence of the detectives and would send his officers to find out their mission. Uasin Gishu was one of the areas hardest hit by the poll violence.

Burning of the church in New Year was one of the most brutal acts of the violence two days after the declaration of the presidential poll result.

Even as the detectives were carrying on their job, two high-level meetings were held yesterday in preparation for Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s arrival.

President Kibaki chaired the National Security and Foreign Affairs meeting at Harambee House while members of the Management Committee on the Grand Coalition Affairs held a session at Ardhi House.

Implications

Even though the security meeting dwelt on various issues, sources said the implications of Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s visit were discussed.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga also attended the meeting.

At the Grand Coalition Management Committee session, members discussed the position that should be adopted by President Kibaki and Mr Odinga when they meet Mr Moreno-Ocampo.

The management committee is headed by President Kibaki and Mr Odinga and its members include Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, deputy PMs Musalia Mudavadi and Uhuru Kenyatta and several Cabinet ministers.

Preparations for Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s two-day visit to Kenya have been completed.

The prosecutor and government representatives are expected to agree on how to try those who planned and executed the violence that rocked Kenya after the disputed presidential elections of 2007.

On Monday, Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo said President Kibaki and Mr Odinga were ready to meet Mr Moreno-Ocampo.

The Office of the President, the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s chambers have been involved in crafting the programme for the ICC prosecutor.

“The prosecutor will only meet the President and the PM,” Mr Kilonzo said.

Some media reports had indicated that some politicians had been lobbying the President and the PM to take a hard-line stand in their meeting with Mr Moreno-Ocampo.

However, Mr Kilonzo dismissed the allegations and said Kenya was ready to cooperate with The Hague because it was a signatory to the Rome Statute.

A hard time

“There is nobody trying to convince the President and the Prime Minister to give Mr Moreno-Ocampo a hard time,” the minister said.

Several letters have been exchanged between the government and the ICC since last month’s visit by chief mediator Kofi Annan to take the mission of trying the post election chaos suspects to the next step.

Some 1,133 people were killed and another 650,000 ejected from their homes during the violence.

In Summary

Police officers will be barred from engaging in the matatu or any other conflict of interest businesses if new reforms are effected.

The proposal is contained in the final draft of the Ransley report presented to President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Tuesday.

The President and Prime Minister received the report from retired judge Philip Ransley at Harambee House.

Code of ethics

The report recommends the establishment of a clear code of ethics for officers.

“Police officers will be prohibited from engaging in businesses that amount to conflict of interest, especially the matatu and towing businesses,” a statement released by the Presidential Press Service after the report hand-over said.

The final Ransley report also advises against the merger of the Administration Police and regular police, a proposal that had generated heated debate between the two units.

The report recommends the creation of a National Policing Council responsible for budgeting and resource allocation.

President Kibaki immediately ordered the payment of transfer and security operation allowance arrears which had ballooned to more than Sh400 million.

A pay and benefits review commission to look into the welfare of the police force would be set up.

“This will lead to, among others, implementation of a comprehensive medical insurance scheme immediately,” the report recommended.

Other highlights of the report include the establishment of the Kenya Police Service to be headed by an inspector-general and the Administration Police Service to be headed by a commandant-general.

The taskforce also proposed the establishment of an Independent Policing Oversight Authority to investigate public complaints against the police service.

“The authority should be chaired by a person of the rank of judge of the High Court and members should be drawn from fields such as human resources, financial management, corporate management and religious organisations, among others,” the PPS statement said.

The establishment of the Police Reforms Implementation Committee was recommended to put in place the administrative, policy, legal and constitutional changes proposed in the report.

Praised taskforce

The taskforce advocated improved working conditions for officers in terms of medical, insurance and housing allowances in a bid to change policing culture and cultivate greater confidence for law enforcers among the public.

It called for the fast-tracking of the police housing programme and improved transport for all police stations.

President Kibaki promised full implementation of a National Policing Policy and National Security Policy and praised the taskforce for its diligence.