Appointment: Uhuru picks his lawyer for NLC chairperson
President Uhuru Kenyatta has picked lawyer Gerishom Otachi as the chairperson of the National Land Commission (NLC) .
Uhuru has also nominated former Cabinet Secretaries Kazungu Kambi as and Esther Murugi as members. .
Others are Prof. James Tuitoek, Tiya Galgalo, Getrude Nduku, Reginald Okumu, Hubbie Hussein and Alister Murimi.
Uhuru has, in accordance with the law, sought the approval of the National Assembly for the nominees for the appointment as Chairperson and members of the commission.
The names will now be committed to the relevant departmental committee for consideration.
Otachi, was part of the pool of lawyers who represented President Uhuru at the International Criminal Court (ICC) during his case six years ago at the Hague, Netherlands.
He also chairs the Geothermal Development Corporation (GDC) board where he has served for the last four years. His term was renewed two months ago.
Similarly, Otachi served as a defence Attorney at the United Nations International Tribunal for Rwanda from 1996 – to date. If successful, Otachi will replace former chair Muhammad Swazuri, who left office amid corruption claims which landed him in court where he is facing numerous graft-related cases.
Kambi was among Cabinet Secretaries who were shown the door during the anti-corruption purge in 2015.
He was, however, cleared of any wrong doing and went on to contest the Kilifi gubernatorial seat but lost to the incumbent Amason Kingi.
Murugi has kept a low profile after losing the Nyeri Town parliamentary seat in 2017. She served during the Kibaki administration as minister in-charge of the Gender docket.
She made news when she threatened to undress in public should the ICC fail to terminate Uhuru’s case.
Galgalo is the former Isiolo Women Rep. She is currently the County Executive committee member in charge of Tourism and Trade in Isiolo County government.
Hubbie Hussein is the Executive Director of Womankind Kenya, the only NGO in the Northeastern region of Kenya. She founded in 1995.
Tuitoek is a former Vice-Chancellor of the Egerton University where he served from 2005 to 2015.
Okumu is lands Economist and a valuer with vast experience in lands administration.
Nduku is a lawyer who has vast experience in land management, while Murimi is a registered valuer with experience in real estate and construction industry.
There have been complaints that the delayed replacement of the commissioners had stalled work including compensation of land owners affected by the construction of roads in various parts of the country.
The new team is also expected to address the unresolved historic land injustices in various parts of the country.
