“ President Kibaki continues to undertake his duties as outlined in the Constitution in regard to the incumbency provisions,” said Mr Kabira.
Recently, the focus has shifted to President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta who could be sworn-in on April 4, pending the outcome of a petition challenging his victory.
The President’s routine duties include receiving security and intelligence briefs, meeting representatives from foreign Governments and top civil servants.
Kibaki has taken a low profile since the March 4 General Election, especially afterthe Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission declared Uhuru the winner.
However, Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s poll petition at the Supreme Court could see President Kibaki preside over the first seating of the National Assembly on April 4.
Kibaki’s successor will enjoy significantly less power as provided for by the new Constitution.
While Kibaki had a free hand in the appointment of senior Government officials like envoys, ministers and permanent secretaries, the incoming President’s choice for the offices will need the approval of the National Assembly.
Constitutional lawyer Kibe Mungai says the National Assembly will have the final word on senior appointments, raising the possibility of legislators frustrating the President’s choices.
“Senior Government appointees such as envoys and Cabinet secretaries have to be vetted by the Parliament, which means the President does not enjoy absolute power to pick on his cronies for the top jobs,” says Mr Mungai.
Selection and appointment of top State officials have in the past been highly secretive, involving the President’s inner circle.
Now, the new President’s advisors could be pushed to have multiple candidates for appointment for the different positions as precaution should the National Assembly reject the most preferred persons.
A simple majority among legislators will be sufficient to approve of any appointee, which could lead to intense lobbying as none of the top coalitions have more than half of the 290-elected constituency representatives.
The President-elect’s Jubilee coalition has the highest number of legislators in the National Assembly.
The coalition is, however, 17 seats shy of the 175 halfway mark in the National Assembly after capturing 134 parliamentary seats and 24 county women representative posts.
- The Standard
