Saturday 30 June 2018

Warning signs on graft purge from five decades

Anglo Leasing suspects
Anglo Leasing suspects, from left, Chamanlal Kamani, Deepak Kamani, Rashmi Kamani, David Onyonka, Joseph Magari and Dave Mwangi at the Milimani Law Courts on march 29, 2016 during the hearing of their case. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 
By GAKUU MATHENGE
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Way back in 1972, then Finance Minister Mwai Kibaki, invited an International Labour Organisation (ILO) team of experts to help study Kenya’s unemployment and income inequalities and make recommendations on how to confront the rising evidence of skewed distribution of economic development.
In its report, the ILO team included a sobering warning: “We realise action may be difficult - politically, administratively, financially and psychologically.
It may represent a break with familiar traditions and offend or hurt sectional interests. But when the cost of action is weighed, we plead that the cost of inactions also be considered... the cost of dealing with problems may be much higher when they pass the threshold of what is considered tolerable...”
This warning would return to haunt Mr Kibaki decades later as President, when he attempted to tackle a pervasive corruption menace that, as the ILO team had warned, seemed to have passed the tolerable threshold.
According to Kibaki’s cabinet minister, Mr Kiraitu Murungi, who barely 10 years ago was running for cover from Uhuru Kenyatta’s high profile drive against Anglo Leasing infamy as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), corruption fights back viciously, unless the President has the public solidly behind him.
TRAGIC COSTS
According to Mr Murungi, one of the most tragic costs corruption has inflicted on Kenya is that it stalled, diverted and sunk the Narc administration’s (2003-2007) attempt at transitional justice through the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC).
“We set up the TJRC Task Force headed by Prof Makau Mutua, and which recommended a TJRC process to resolve historical injustices.
By the time the Makau Task Force finished its report, Narc’s anti-corruption drive against land grabbing had been politicised and framed as anti-Kalenjin witch-hunt,” said Mr Murungi.
Soon, former Kanu power elite from Kalenjin land and former Kanu comrades who had joined Narc through the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) closed ranks in Parliament, he added.
“Mr Kibaki could not open a TJRC battlefront and fight insurgency in Parliament at the same time” he said at the time, explaining how TRJC's agenda fell off Kibaki’s list of priorities.
From then on, survival assumed higher priority than implementation of pledges Narc made on the campaign trial.
ANTI-CORRUPTION
Mr Murungi was also Kibaki’s anti-corruption tzar, as Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, and cabinet anti-corruption committee chair. He exuded confidence in his robust launch of a series of anti-corruption initiatives, complete with the Public Officer Ethics Act (2003) .
Barely two years into the first term, all senior members of Kibaki’s kitchen cabinet, from his personal assistant of many years, Mr Alfred Gitonga, Internal Security Minister Chris Murungaru, Finance Minister David Mwiraria, Education Minister George Saitoti, Finance Permanent Secretary Joseph Magari, Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Sylvester Mwaliko, his Internal Security counterpart Dave Mwangi and then director of CID Joseph Kamau had all succumbed to graft investigations.
A stark difference between retired President Kibaki and President Kenyatta is that the former did not seem to fumble and fuss about matters once public opinion focussed attention at some aficionado's misconduct.
For instance, Mr Murungi and former Finance Minister Amos Kimunya would hear on live TV Mr Kibaki announcing he had “accepted” their resignation to facilitate investigations, while they were still pleading their innocence at another part of town.
TOP TECHNOCRATS
In his 2012 biography, An Odyssey in Kenyan Politics, Mr Murungi, now the Meru Governor, recounts Mr Kibaki’s statement of resolve on the corruption agenda in his speech during the official opening of Parliament in 2003: “Corruption, they say, begins at the top. Now the fight against corruption in Kenya will start at the top.”
Soon, nearly half his Cabinet, closest political allies and top technocrats would be stewing in the corruption soup.
Mr Murungi’s biography also recounts how former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, then Public Works Minister, defended Kibaki’s anti-corruption drive against accusations it was a witch hunt targeting Luo civil servants following the axing of former Deputy Public Prosecutor, Mr Bernard Chunga.
After Mr Kibaki and Mr Raila fell out over a pre-election (2002) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the anti-corruption drive fizzled out.
POLITICAL BACKLASH
It is telling that the renewed war on mega corruption has only received a new impetus after President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga closed ranks with the March 9 handshake.
President Kenyatta’s revamped anti-corruption drive has assumed political dimensions triggering familiar political backlash, with senior members of the Jubilee Party claiming witch hunt against their communities and political comrades.
The President’s resolve and spine to deal a lasting dent on the entrenched culture of looting public coffers by political elite and their civil service cohorts, remains to be seen. How he deals with political comrades caught with their fingers in the cookie jar, will be telling .

Jobless graduate shakes up market with rare snack

Irene Ikarede Etyang
Irene Etyang making Tasty millet meal bar at Amagoro, Teso North Constituency on June 29, 2018. She sells the yummy snack to her health-conscious consumers. PHOTO | ISAAC WALE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 
By DIANA MUTHEU
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Three years after a long struggle trying to find a job with little luck after graduating from the University of Nairobi (UoN) in 2012, Irene Ikarede Etyang decided to try something new.
As she was paying a visit in 2015 to the Kenyatta National Hospital children's cancer ward, Ms Etyang decided to venture into research, focusing on ways to reduce the non-communicable disease burden in the country.
With the help of her knowledge from the food science and technology course she had just completed, Ms Etyang came up with a snack which can be taken comfortably by people suffering from health conditions such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, hypertension and heart complications.
YUMMY SNACK
The yummy snack is now sold under the brand name "Tasty Millet Meal Bar."
“Obesity is on the rise in our country and Africa at large. I decided to come up with a snack for people with obesity and my Tasty Millet Meal Bar is a good re-placement for the sweet things they like because it is a low-fat food and is highly nutritive,” said Ms Etyang, whose hard work on the product since 2015 culminated in a nutritional test at UoN and its eventual certification by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) last year.
The 30-year old food scientist said the nibbles are made from millet, groundnuts and honey. She also wants to introduce simsim as an ingredient to the product.
RAW MATERIALS
The raw materials are fetched from all parts of Busia County because they are readily available.
Hers is a cottage industry and, in a small factory that also serves as her home, the innovative entrepreneur has installed a small packaging machine and a fabricated mould.
She also makes use of a posho mill where the groundnuts and millet are ground to their specifications in terms of particle size.
“I decided to come up with a tasty healthy food because most of them are taste-less. For the people with diabetes, they are not allowed to take sugar so the product is appropriate to their health status. The snack is gluten free, there is no artificial colouring or sugar added,” she said.
Her idea was validated by the great feedback she received after showcasing the invention to her colleagues last year during the Young African Leaders’ Initiative (Yali) at the Kenyatta University, the regional leadership centre.
YOUNG LEADERS
The members of Yali includes delegates from Central African Republic Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somaliland among others.
Ms Etyang says that the Tasty millet meal bar is highly nutritious as it contains high percentage of Calcium, iron and Zinc. It has low calories and also contains other nutrients that includes proteins, phosphorus and carbohydrates.
She has sold some of the products in medium packets to her customers since January.
Ms Etyang will be launching the product at Suddex hotel, Amagoro on June 30.
Ms Etyang is planning to set up a processing plant for the Tasty millet meal bar in Busia County where the machines will cost her about Sh2 million.
“From the inlet to the outlet the processing plant will comprise of a miller, mixer, blender, moulder and a larger packaging machine,” said the entrepreneur who also hopes to tap into an international niche market for her products.

Worrying trend of elimination of scientists standing up against corruption in Kenya

Image may contain: 1 person, sitting
The picture below is that of Professor Peter Odada Sumba, one of the leading research scientists at Kenya Medical Research Institute [KEMRI] based in Kisumu.
On 15th June 2018, Prof Odada was shot and died two days later at Agha Khan Hospital in Kisumu.

Media reports and the police passed the incident as another act of thuggery.
But incidentally, nothing was stolen from Professor.
Professor Odada was watching the opening match of this year's world cup with a group of his friends at a pub near his home when a group of about seven guys riding on motorbikes came to the pub and told him they had been looking for him for long while they commanded everyone else to lie down.One of them then shot him at the lower abdomen area shattering his internal organs.

This was not another act of violent robbery as the police put it or would want us to believe.
Prof Odada was fondly referred to as "mtetezi wa wanyonge" by the rank and file of KEMRI in Kisumu for standing up for their rights.
About three years ago, more than 1500 employees at KEMRI were led redundant (jobless) after the largest KEMRI's financier, America's Center for Disease Control [CDC] stopped it's funding due to embezzlement of funds by top officials at KEMRI.
These funds are meant for KEMRI operations and salaries for employees.

Professor Odada stood against these malpractices and was known to point out the culprits because they were not only destroying people's lives when they render them redundant, but because they were also hobbling our country's scientific progress.
Before his untimely death, Prof Odada was poised to head a new research facility that was to be set up in Homa Bay County.
His clean track record and financial intergrity in financial dealings meant for research purposes had won him admirers even in international research institutions who had found a rare jewel of a clean Kenyan in a country that's now a sea of corruption.

Science is what this country needs most and Prof Odada had committed his life to it's advancement and hence his strict adherence to financial integrity in research funds.
That we have people at our premier research institution that is KEMRI who cannot fathom the import of research advancement and would even go ahead to have such a brilliant mind eliminated should be a matter of concern to every citizen in this country.
Up to date, no arrests have been made.

It's maddeningly sickening that such homegrown brains can be eliminated to smooth the way for corrupt officials to run amok and yet we are unashamedly happy to pay a leg and an arm to hire foreigners to come and treat us.
It's time we Kenyans demanded that such blatant raping of our country and our souls stops.
Professor Peter Odada's death should never be in vain.
#Justice for Prof Odada and his family.
SOURCE:
Patrick Maina Wangeci

Friday 29 June 2018

Agency issues early warning of impending drought

dry spell
The National Drought Management Authority has urged citizens to store food and farm produce carefully to last through the upcoming dry spell. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP  
By FAITH NYAMAI 
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The National Drought Management Authority has issued an early warning of an impending drought.
It says citizens should store food and farm produce carefully to last through the upcoming dry spell.
This follows heavy rains witnessed in the country from March to May.
PASTPRAL AREAS
The rains were preceded by prolonged drought that affected many counties, especially in pastoral areas, leading to death of livestock and scarcity of food.
In a June report sent to media houses, the authority says the seasonal rainfall boosted crop and livestock production in most counties.
In arid and semi-arid areas, drought indicators show enhanced rainfall that was fairly distributed both in time and space.
Counties such as Kwale, Kilifi, Makueni, Marsabit, Garissa, Baringo and Turkana had rainfall in excess of 110 per cent of the long term mean for May.
Short-lived and intense rainfall significantly boosted crop production, but caused flash floods in counties such as Baringo, Marsabit, Turkana and Makueni.
Water sources in Marsabit were fully recharged, while most pans and dams in Narok had above normal water levels.
The report also indicates that in marginal agricultural counties, the crops are in fairly good condition. Harvesting of beans, pigeon peas, cow peas and green grams has started.
“In pastoral counties, the condition of livestock has improved significantly as a result of availability of forage and water, leading to increased milk availability and household income,” says the report.
The seasonal rainfall also resulted in high vegetation, with arid and semi-arid counties recording "greenness values that are within normal to above normal ranges".
Milk production has risen by five per cent in Marsabit while crop production has increased.

Chat with new president of Court of Appeal William Ouko

Justice William OukoPresident Court of Appeal Justice William Ouko after taking oath of office at the Supreme Court on June 26, 2018. His vision is that judges administer justice fairly, professionally, consistently, expeditiously and efficiently. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |NATION MEDIA GROUP 
By SAM KIPLAGAT
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When Justice William Ouko was elected president, his little nephew aged five years asked the mother what had happened to President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The young boy, he added, then wrote a long shopping list and was waiting for the day he would be taken to State House.
What the boy did not know was that his uncle had been elected President of the Court of Appeal, the country’s second highest court, and that Mr Kenyatta was the President of Kenya.
The two posts cannot be compared, but the role Justice Ouko officially assumed this week is important. And, just like President Kenyatta, Justice Ouko will serve a five-year term.
The 56-year-old judge was elected by his colleagues in March this year to replace the outgoing first President of the Court, Justice Paul Kihara Kariuki, following his appointment to the position of Attorney-General.
LAGS BEHIND
In his speech immediately after the election, the judge agreed that the Appellate Court, in many respects, lags behind in terms of capacity building for improving operations and efficiency. He urged judges to rally behind him as he outlined his vision.
“Despite the shift in agenda, our focus might still be on the "hardware" — the physical and procedural aspects of our work. But we need to also consider, even more seriously, the "software" — the extent to which our personal attitudes, institutional practices and beliefs, hinder or promote our ability to realise our vision,” he told the judges.
VISION
Justice Ouko told the Nation that, as is the expectation of every Kenyan who goes to the court, it is his vision that judges administer justice fairly, professionally, consistently, expeditiously and efficiently.
“To achieve this, it is my commitment to foster a work environment that is dignified and underpinned by a culture of respect, collegiality, sensitivity, consideration and brotherhood and sisterhood,” he said. He added that because of the binding nature of the court’s decisions — being the final court in most cases — Appellate judges cannot afford to sacrifice quality.
“Indeed, quality, independence and efficiency are the hallmark of a competent and effective justice system,” he said.
MORE JUDGES
The judge has promised to push for employment of more judges to the court which, at the moment, has 19 judges instead of the 30 stipulated by the Constitution. “With 19 instead of 30 judges, we are on the brink of violating Article 164 (1) of the Constitution, which puts the minimum number of Appeal Court judges at 12,” he said.
He promised to decentralise more courts, especially in Nakuru and Eldoret. Currently, the court has stations in Kisumu, Nyeri Malindi and Nairobi.
He said it was regrettable that Justice Mohamed Warsame, with whom he was elected on the same day, was yet to take his place in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), adding that the Court of Appeal is unrepresented in the commission.
The election of Justice Warsame was delayed after he refused to appear before the Parliamentary Committee on Justice for vetting.
Justice Ouko said he plans to address the perennial problem of case backlog, adding that the court has identified old appeals and applications whose hearings will be prioritised.
“Had it not been for election petition appeals which, as you all know, have strict timelines, the court would have worked on these cases way before the deadline. We would have met the Chief Justice’s directive to finalise all cases that are five and more years old before December 2018,” he said.
He disclosed that Appeal Court judges were determined to complete, in the next three weeks, all applications for certificates to appeal to the Supreme Court and all single judge applications.
BUILD BRIDGES
The judge promised to build bridges with other courts, and ensure that their decisions do not conflict but, rather, develop jurisprudence.
He said Court of Appeal judges would be involved in community activities such as partnering with the academia for delivery of guest lectures at universities and supporting the less fortunate through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
One of his favourite sports is tennis, which he would still be playing but for his knees.
“I then took up golf but I was forced to abandon it after making a succession of embarrassing swings.”
The judge loves reading and listening to music. “All kinds of music,” he says.
Justice Ouko holds a Master of Arts degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice (MACJ), Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Nairobi and a Diploma in Legal Practice from Kenya School of Law.

Teachers to get pay rise from next month


Teacher
A teacher in class at Kilgoris DEB primary in Narok County. More than 312,060 teachers are set for a pay rise next month as TSC implements the second phase of their collective bargaining agreement that will cost Sh18 billion. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 
By OUMA WANZALA
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More than 312,060 teachers are set for a pay rise next month as their employer — the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) — implements the second phase of their collective bargaining agreement that will cost Sh18 billion.
In the increase set to take effect on July 1, Chief Principal in Job Group R (D5), currently earning Sh148,360, will now take home Sh152,937, while the lowest paid Chief Principal in Job Group Q, will earn Sh111,201, up from Sh102,807.
Senior principals in Job Group P (D4) will now take home Sh99,730 up from 87,730, while the highest paid principal in this category, currently taking home Sh109,249, will earn Sh114,632.
PRINCIPALS AND DEPUTIES
Principals and deputy principals II in Job Group M and N will also get a raise.
The highest paid currently earning Sh77,840 will now take home Sh90, 612 while lowest paid, currently taking home Sh59,286, will earn Sh77,840.
Deputy principals II in Job Group N currently earning Sh59,286 will earn Sh71,565, while highest paid deputy principal III now earning Sh77,840 will take home Sh85,269.
Senior headteacher, senior masters II and deputy principals IV who fall in Job Group M and N will have their salaries increased to between Sh66,177 and Sh80,242.
Currently, they earn between Sh55,231 and Sh77,840.
HEADTEACHERS
Headteachers, deputy headteachers and senior master III currently earning between Sh29,427 and Sh55,604 will now take home between Sh40,849 and Sh60,613.
Deputy headteacher II, currently earning between Sh26,610 and Sh47,896, will now earn between Sh35,927 and Sh49,912, while secondary teacher I and senior teacher I currently earning between Sh37,721 and Sh47,912 will now take home between Sh39,532 and Sh49,912.
Senior teacher II, secondary teacher II and secondary teacher II UT and primary special need education teacher in Job Group G-J currently earning between Sh21,719 and Sh32,004 will now get Sh27,325 and Sh32,988 while secondary teacher II and secondary teacher II and primary special need education teacher in Job Group K will now earn between Sh34,955 and Sh43,694, up from the current Sh32,988 to Sh42,642.
Primary teacher I and secondary teacher III in Job Group H and J currently earning between Sh25,929 and Sh31,956 will now earn between Sh27,195 and Sh33,994.
The lowest paid teacher (primary teacher II) currently taking home between Sh19,224 and Sh24,250 will now take home between Sh21,756 and Sh27,195.
The teachers will also be entitled to hardship allowance, commuter allowance and annual leave allowance.
The lowest paid teacher (B5) will be entitled to a hardship allowance of Sh6,600, commuter allowance Sh4,000 and annual leave allowance Sh4,000.
Hardship allowance will be between Sh6,600 and Sh38,000, commuter allowance will be between Sh4,000 and Sh16,000 while annual leave allowance will be between Sh4, 000 and Sh10, 000.
A total of 152,000 teachers in lower cadres will get their full package as this will be the final year of the implementation of the CBA while those in higher cadre will be paid until 2021.
CBA
Last year in July, the TSC started the implementation of the Sh54 billion CBA and it used Sh13.7 billion for the increase.
The implementation in two phases is for teachers in job groups H and J while teachers in the upper cadre, who are mostly in administrative positions, will have the increase implemented in four phases.
The deal overhauled the current grading system and the final implementation report of the CBA will run until June 30, 2021.
The agreement also abolished the P1 teacher position, which was Job Group G, and those in the grade moved to H, which is known as B5.
Under the CBA, Senior Master (III) falls under T Scale 9, Senior Master (II) under T Scale 10, while Senior Master (I) is T Scale 11.
For deputy school heads, the Deputy Principal (IV) falls under T Scale 10, Deputy Principal (III) under T Scale (11), and Deputy Principal (II) in T Scale 12 as Deputy Principal (I) falls under T Scale 13.
The new TSC grading structure ranges from (B5 to D5), that is T Scale 5 to 15.
The government has set aside Sh5 billion for the recruitment of additional teachers.

Kisumu-Kericho boundary row deepens

Kisumu-Kericho border row
Koguta villagers move with their belongings after clashes along the Kisumu-Kericho border in 2014. The boundary row pitting the Kalenjin and Luo communities has taken a new twist after some elders from Kericho County claimed parts of Kisumu County. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 
By ANITA CHEPKOECH
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By TOM MATOKE
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The boundary row pitting the Kalenjin and Luo communities has taken a new twist after some elders from Kericho County claimed parts of Kisumu County.
This comes barely weeks after Nandi County claimed parts of Kisumu County.
Elders from Kericho County are now claiming parts of Chemelil and Muhoroni, which are located within Kisumu County.
The Myoot Kipsigis Council of Elders in Kericho led by its chairman, Retired Bishop Paul Leleito, has demanded that the boundaries between Kericho and Kisumu be redrawn on grounds that parts of the sugarcane growing areas were originally in Kericho County.
MAPS
“Historical maps indicate that areas in Kisumu County such as Chemelil and Muhoroni were originally located in Kericho. The areas were hived off from Kericho during the redrawing of the country’s maps,” said the retired African Gospel Church bishop.
Mr Leleito called on the national government and the two counties to resolve the matter amicably.
The bishop, who led more than 60 elders in a meeting in Kericho, said the call to redraw the border does not mean that Luos in the disputed areas will be evicted.
TJRC REPORT
Further, the elders said the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission report should be implemented so that Kalenjins who suffered historical injustices will finally find justice.
There already exists a heated debate on how to resolve a similar dispute in which Nandi County wants the National Land Commission (NLC) to revert seven border towns from Kisumu to Nandi.
The towns include Chemelil, Muhoroni, Miwani, Kibigori, Kibos, Koru and Kopere within its borders.
Already, the legal teams and land officials in Nandi County have visited the disputed boundary between Nandi-Kisumu counties to prevail upon the two communities to maintain peace.
MORE EVIDENCE
They are also seeking more evidence which the elders would table to the NLC.
The NLC is expected to start public hearings next month.
Nandi County Land CEC Jacob Tanui and the Land Chief Officer Solomon Mangira yesterday said the county legal teams and elders from the county would hold meetings with their colleagues from Kisumu with the aim of finding a lasting solution to the land conflict between the two counties.
Mr Tanui and Mr Mangira said elders from the Nandi community have received crucial information and documents which would be tabled before the the NLC panel, which would be holding public hearings at the AIC Kapsabet Bible College from July 10, 2018.
He said: “The county government is urging both communities to live in harmony and reject incitement and allow the NLC team to conduct investigations so that the truth on the disputed boundary between the two counties is established.”
Mr Mangira added: “The residents of the disputed boundary should continue their normal businesses without any fear." He said the two counties are members of the 14-member regional economic block and would would resolve the matter amicably.”
On Tuesday, IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati said the commission is only mandated to address constituency boundaries.

Thursday 28 June 2018

Jeff Matemu win landmark case against Jeff Sessions

Jeff Matemu
A Kenyan-born immigration lawyer practicing in the US Jeff Matemu. PHOTO | COURTESY 
By CHRIS WAMALWA
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A Kenyan-born immigration lawyer practising in the US Jeff Matemu has won a landmark case against US Attorney-General Jeff Sessions.
In the historic ruling handed down by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesday, petty crimes without conviction will no longer be used by the Trump administration to deport scores of illegal immigrants in the US as has happened in the past.
NO CONVICTION
Immigration attorneys and civil advocacy groups termed the decision as a very important win for immigrants because immigration courts have for many years misinterpreted immigration law to deport immigrants who committed petty crimes but whose conviction was postponed under state law without a finding of guilt.
“This is the case of immigrants who have been granted a PJC or a prayer for judgment continued. A prayer for judgment continued or sometimes referred to as “PJC” or “continued judgment” is a device that in the courts discretion may be granted even though a person charged with certain offenses has pleaded guilty or responsible.” Mr Matemu explained.
“The court does not enter a final judgment of conviction in the case. By not entering a final judgment in the case, the plea is not entered against a person”.
He said immigration judges have, however, routinely called this a conviction and, therefore, used it to support orders of deportation.
The also use the same grounds to deny aliens the right to file court cases to argue their defences against deportation in cases where the crime is the issue.
$100 COST
“I filed a case against the United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the court agreed with me, ruling in favour of my client Jose Guzman Gonzalez,” he said.
Mr Matemu, who is currently a candidate for US House of Representatives in the second District in North Carolina, said that his client, Mr Gonzalez, had pleaded guilty to possessing a small amount of marijuana and upon the admission, received a prayer for judgment and was ordered to pay $100, which is really an administrative cost rather than a fine.
“An immigration judge ordered him deported as a result and I appealed the case to the Federal Appeals Court. The court in agreeing with me ruled that under North Carolina law, “costs” are not punitive in nature. Costs are imposed as a ministerial act, pursuant to statute. Additionally, the costs are designed to compensate the North Carolina justice system for the cost of adjudication,” he said.
IMPACT
The court agreed with him that costs— not being punishment imposed by a judge— cannot be called 'punishment', and therefore are not evidence of conviction under state law where the judge did not enter a conviction.
Mr Matemu said the decision impacts most likely hundreds if not thousands of cases currently pending in immigration courts, especially drug related offences of similar type.
He said arising out of the ruling, the US Department of Justice has to go back to the drawing board.
 “Many pending deportation cases may have to be reviewed, reopened, remanded or just terminated. His (the client’s win) is a new lifeline for many immigrants,” he said.
Mr Matemu, one of the leading immigration attorneys in the US, is very popular among the Latino community in North Carolina who have relied on him for difficult immigration cases.