Commission on Administrative Justice Appears Before Three Joint Committees, Proposing to Have an Internal Military Ombudsman in Kenya

The Committees on Justice and Legal Affairs; Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations and Delegated Legislation held a meeting today with the Chairperson, Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) “Office of the Ombudsman”, Hon. Florence Kajuju.

Hon. Kajuju, flanked by the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance and the South African Military Ombudsman, met the three committees in regards to her proposal to have an Internal Military Ombudsman in Kenya, who will ensure that the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) operate with integrity, handle individual complaints and help prevent human rights abuses, eliminate malpractice, and contribute to the overall good governance of the security sector.

“The Commission has received 289 complaints as of June 2023, from current and former members of the Kenya Defence Forces particularly on matters of promotion, termination among others. We propose to have an Internal Military Ombudsman, who will deal with these disputes in a fair and just manner.” Asserted Hon. Kajuju.

Members raised aspects to do with the security components used on issues of national security, with Hon. Kajuju noting that they have one limitation on access to information, as KDF only gives information to the extent to which the institution feels it’s prudent for CAJ to analyze that information, limiting the information that they receive, and making it hard to gauge whether the information withheld touches on national security.

The committees also heard from a retired Lieutenant General from South Africa, who serves in the Defence Forces of South Africa as a Military Ombudsman, who shared more information on the operations of his office.

The Lead Chairperson in the meeting Hon. George Gitonga Murugara (Tharaka) advised CAJ to prepare a legislative proposal that will be looked at critically by the three committees for consideration.

The commission is presenting this proposal to the National Assembly for a second time, having first made the proposal in the 12th Parliament.