There has been a recent attempt to seek orders against the appointment of Kenya's National Land Commission. One of the three petitioners who had petitioned the High Court against the appointment of the chair and members of the national land commission moved to the Court of Appeal following Justice Majanja's ruling.

Under a certificate of urgency, the petitioners sought to have the Appeal Court issue temporary orders/injunction that the nominees shall not be sworn in before the hearing and determination of the appeal.

This matter came before Justice Koome on Thursday 6th December 2012. The Appeal Court however did not issue the orders/injunction sought.

This therefore leaves the President free to gazette the chair and commissioners and is a big relief to many Kenyans who wish to see a land commission assume office at an early moment.

Lilian Aluanga-Delvaux's feature story on this matter in the Sunday Standard (see The Standard on Sunday: December 9, 2012) provides good insight and context to this issue. It's perhaps the first comprehensive discussion of the 'see saw' that this appointment process has become, with bits and pieces of information at every stage but no clarification from either the Minister of Lands, the Prime Minister or the President.

Land sector stakeholders, led by the Kenya Land Alliance, are scheduled to hold a press conference this morning to voice their concerns on the undue delay to the process. Speaking from Kisii, the CIC Chair Mr Charles Nyachae was quoted by The Star on Friday 7th December 2012, appealing for the expeditious appointment of this commission given its significance to the resolution of historical land injustices.

If our presidential candidates are the reformers they would want us to believe they are, then they ought to have gone on record seeking clarification about this delay given the importance of land reforms o Kenya's social-economic and political development. I think it is now upon the two principals to seize the opportunity to clarify and offer direction on this matter to pre-empt further anxiety, whatever the underlying issues may be.