Nairobi — The government on Wednesday stepped in to try and resolve squabbles threatening the operations of its key human rights watchdog.

Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo summoned top officials of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to a meeting in his office to unravel leadership wrangles facing it.

Details of the two hour meeting remained scanty, but Mr Kilonzo later on told the Nation that he will not allow the commission "to go down the drain".

"I had called the meeting to find out what is ailing the commission and whether the leadership squabbles I am reading in the media is true... it was just an exploratory meeting," said Mr Kilonzo.

"I cannot allow this institution to go down the drain. I have a strong interest on what is happening in the commission as the line minister in charge. However, it is too early to discuss what transpired during our meeting in the media," he added.

Seven out of the eight commissioners of KNCHR have passed a vote of no confidence on embattled chair Ms Florence Jaoko, stripped her of all her powers and appointed a committee of three to run the organisation.

Scoffed at ouster

Ms Jaoko has however scoffed at her ouster bid, saying the commissioners had no mandate to do so and insisted that she is still the head of the organisation.

Although the law does not give the commissioners powers to remove the chairperson, Ms Jaoko's critics argue that since they elected her they could also kick her out.

The commissioners meeting with the Justice minister appeared not to have achieved much. At one point, Mr Kilonzo left the meeting, leaving the commissioners to continue deliberations on their own.

Speaking after the meeting at Cooperative House on Wednesday, Ms Jaoko said they were holding consultations to resolve differences in the organisation.

At a separate press conference, lawyers appeared to defend Ms Jaoko by questioning her alleged removal from office. The International Commission of Jurists-Kenya, Federation of Women Lawyers and Law Society of Kenya said they were not aware of any legal provisions that mandated the commissioners to remove the chair.

"We are concerned that the rights commission has purported to remove from office its own chairperson. The reasons for purported removal remain unclear to us," the Fida executive director Grace Maingi Kimani said.

Ms Kimani, her ICJ counterpart George Kegoro, Njonjo Mue (ICJ council member) and Felistas Njoroge (ICJ vice-chairperson) said if the commission is to remain accountable, "this major development must be backed by solid reasons".

The reasons must not only be agreed upon internally among the commissioners but must also be explained to the public which has expectations on the Commission, the lawyers said.

They added that since the new constitution merged the Gender Commission and the rights commission, any decision on the chair must involve both units.

The new constitution vests the expanded commission with tremendous responsibility in the governance of the country and LSK, FIDA and ICJ said it will need the good will of stakeholders if it is to discharge its responsibilities.

"We hope that the commission recognises this fact and will see the need to be accountable to us," Ms Kimani said. The lawyers also offered to mediate to overcome the challenges facing it.

They said the differences were not good at a time when the country was implementing new constitution. The lawyers said it was important that the country remained focused in implementation of the new constitution "and is not distracted by avoidable institutional problems in the governance institutions".

Protect credibility

The International Centre for Policy and Conflict also called on the commission "to jealously protect its credibility, integrity, legitimacy as an effective guarantor of human rights reputation."

Executive director Wainaina Ndung'u said having effective and credible national human rights institutions was key benchmark for assessing the success of the strong and sustainable human rights protection at the national level.

Mr Wainaina said Ms Jaoko should respect and uphold the internal decisions of the commission that have collectively been agreed upon. "This is necessary in ensuring that the integrity, credibility and reputation of the commission is not compromised," Mr Wainaina said.

He said his organisation recognises the commission's need for strong and effective leadership, that is able to operate distinctively and independently from the State influence and interference. A strong institutional infrastructure must also exist to sustain a culture of human rights.

The merging of the National Commission and that of Gender, the lawyers said, enhances its responsibility and that it would now be required to "stand up in the gap between the government and the public, ensuring that the rights of the public are protected."

The commission, an independent rights institution has the core mandate to further the protection and promotion of human rights in Kenya. Its commissioners include Ms Jaoko, Hassan Omar, Wambui Kimathi, Winfred Lichuma, Samuel Tororei, Fatuma Ibrahim, Mute, Fatuma Dullo, Anne Ngugi and Mohamed Hallo.

Only Mr Tororei supported Ms Jaoko when the commissioners voted against her. Rows at the commission started in May when the commissioners requested Ms Jaoko to step down saying they were not satisfied with her leadership.

They said the commission's profile since former chairman Maina Kiai left needed urgent intervention and its image rebuilt. Further, they doubted if Ms Jaoko would be up to the task in implementing the new constitution. Ms Jaoko's position is elective and argues that she had not been treated fairly by the commissioners.