Parliament is set to start the vetting of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s two new Cabinet nominees and six principal secretaries on Thursday once Speaker Justin Muturi formally notifies the House of the proposed appointments this afternoon.
Mr Muturi will notify MPs attending a special session of the nomination of former Nyeri Senator Mutahi Kagwe as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Betty Maina who was promoted to head the Trade and Industrialisation docket.
Mr Kenyatta has also nominated Ambassador Johnson Weru for appointment as Trade PS, Dr Jwan Ouma (Vocational and Technical Training), Mary Kimonye (Public Service), Ambassador Simon Nabukwesi (University Education and Research), Solomon Kitungu (Transport) and Enock Momanyi Onyango (Physical Planning).
The House convenes for a special sitting at 2.30pm to allow MPs to condole with the family of retired President Daniel arap Moi who died on Tuesday, February 4 at the age of 95 years.
“Upon resumption of the House on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, I shall convey the message from H.E the President to the Assembly House so as to cause the commencement of the necessary vetting processes contemplated under the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act and Standing Order 45 (committal of public appointments to committees),” Mr Muturi said in a communication dated January 23, 2020 directing the Clerk to notify MPs of the nominations.
The House was set to reconvene for a new session tomorrow but the day has been declared a public holiday following the death of Mr Moi.
Mr Moi served for 47 years in Parliament having represented Kenya in the Legislative Council (Legco) from 1955 and as MP for Baringo North from 1963 to 1966 when it was renamed Baringo Central. He held the seat until his retirement as president in 2002.
Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, Mr Kagwe and Ms Maina will be vetted by the Committee on Appointments chaired by Speaker Muturi while the six nominees for principal secretary posts will appear before the relevant departmental committees of the House. The committees will proceed to notify the candidate and the public of the time and place for the holding of the approval hearing at least seven days prior to the hearing. “The committee shall conduct a hearing on the proposed appointment and shall, unless otherwise provided in law, table its report in the House within 14 days of the date on which the notification was made,” House rules state.
Mr Kagwe, the first ever Senator for Nyeri, served in the Cabinet of former President Mwai Kibaki as Minister for Information, Communications and Technology (ICT).
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