Ruto nominates UN human rights specialist Claris Awuor Ogangah as KNCHR chair

President William Ruto has nominated Claris Awuor Ogangah as chairperson of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) after lawyer Duncan Oburu Ojwang turned down the offer.

At the same time, the President nominated John Cox Lorionokou to replace Anne Nderitu as Registrar of Political Parties. Agatha Wanjiku Wahome was also nominated as Assistant Registrar of Political Parties.

Ogangah, who holds a Master of Law Degree in Democracy and Governance from the University of Nairobi  has been working as a human rights specialist at Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nairobi.

She has previously worked as Human Rights Advisor with the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director/Head of Programmes at the Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya (FIDA-K).

In a statement, State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed said President Ruto has submitted the nominations to the National Assembly for consideration.

In a letter addressed to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, Dr Ojwang cited possible conflict of interest and personal reasons as the basis of his decision to decline the nomination.

Wetang’ula informed the House during Wednesday’s morning session that he had received a letter from Ojwang declining the nomination

He was set to face the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee for vetting, which was suspended, with the Speaker instructing the Clerk of the National Assembly to immediately inform the appointing authority of the development.

In citing perceived conflict of interest as one of the reasons he declined the nomination, Dr Ojwang’, a legal scholar specialising in human rights law, constitutional law, He was likely to have found himself conflicted having represented President Ruto either personally or in furtherance of his interests in various cases including at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, where he served as a researcher to his legal team.

Ojwang’s nomination also faced legal opposition from the Katiba Institute and Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), which argued that it breached Article 250(II) of the Constitution, which prohibits appointing a chairperson and vice-chairperson of the same gender in a constitutional commission.

Since the current vice-chairperson, Raymond Nyeris, is male, the petitioners in their suit averred the nomination Of Ojwang was unconstitutional.

This left President Ruto with choosing between Ogangah and Selina Amsugut Iseme, who currently serves as the Director, Legal Affairs in the Office of the Controller of Budget, to fulfil the gender principle and avert a protracted court battle.

Others who had been shortlisted were Victor Okoth Ogwang Lando, Edward Katama Ngeywa and Michael Peter Otieno Okelloh.

Lorionokou previously served as a returning officer for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in Kisumu in 2017.