Nairobi — Tough laws to curb looting of public wealth and a code of conduct for MPs in commonwealth member-states could be on the way.

A communique issued yesterday at the close of a three-day pan-African conference on the accountability and relationship between the three arms of government wants the Commonwealth secretariat to help enact the laws.

But even as this relationship was being discussed, the poor relationship between the Kenyan Judiciary and its Executive was played out publicly when Chief Justice Evan Gicheru - who closed the conference - opened his address by complaining that the former was not even consulted over the forum.

"I wish to register at the outset, my personal regret that the Kenyan Judiciary was not adequately consulted and involved in the preparation of this forum," Mr Justice Gicheru said to the amazement of the delegates at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Nairobi.

Had it been consulted, its contribution by way of planning and presentation would have been of greater impact, Mr Justice Gicheru said in the presence of Justice minister Kiraitu Murungi, whose ministry handled the preparations.

The communique says the Acts of Parliaments to prevent and punish corruption must include recovery of embezzled.

The penal codes should also ensure the prosecution of officials for having wealth and income "more than the known sources", the delegates resolved.

They further recommended that to deter officials from amassing wealth from corruption, financial disclosure laws and codes of conduct should be passed, and MPs get remunerated adequately.

It called on the Commonwealth Secretariat to give relevant technical assistance in developing a model legislation on the recovery of illegally acquired wealth.

Earlier, Commonwealth countries were asked to make their judiciaries financially independent of the Executive.

Uganda's chief justice Benjamin Odoki told the conference it was imperative that the Judiciary's social role be recognised.

Mr Justice Odoki said the Judiciary should be safeguarded not only by the Constitution but by all the other government organs.

He said: "Of late, threats have emanated from the Executive against the Judiciary and, in particular, against individual judges. Nothing could undermine the rule of law more..."

Mr Justice Odoki suggested that candidates for judicial office be carefully vetted by an independent body to ensure only those who qualify are appointed.

Those to hold such sensitive positions, Mr Justice Odoki said, should be "people of high integrity, proven ability, moral probity and valour".

He said that judicial officers who have no confidence in their own ability succumbed to inducements, pressure and threats.

The independence of individual judges, he said, should mean independence from not only other arms of government but also other public institutions, other judges and even the chief justice.

Access to the courts should be simplified and laws and rules of procedure translated into local languages, he said.

However, the chief justice noted that corruption was one social, political and legal virus which appeared to have infested all the three arms of government, affecting the rule of law adversely.