Parliament Announces Vetting Dates for Newly Nominated CSs

The National Assembly has issued a notice confirming that the newly nominated Cabinet Secretaries will face their approval hearings early next year.

In the notice, the vetting dates for the nominated ambassadors, high commissioners, and Public Service Commission members have also been outlined.

Mutahi Kagwe, William Kabogo, and Lee Kinyanjui, who have been nominated for the Ministries of Agriculture, ICT, and Trade respectively, will be vetted on 14 January.

The session with the Appointments Committee will begin at 12 pm with former Health CS Kagwe, followed by Kabogo at 3 pm.

Last on the roster will be former Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui, whose grilling session will begin at 5 pm.

Diplomatic representatives, including former Sports CS Ababu Namwamba, who has been nominated as the UNEP representative in Nairobi, will be vetted on 10 January.

They will face the Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations Committee, starting with the nominee for the Ghana High Commissioner, Margaret Ndung’u.

Former Agriculture CS Andrew Karanja, nominated to represent Kenya in Brazil, and Noor Gabow, who will lead the newly formed High Commission in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, will also appear before the committee on the same day.

Eight members nominated to the Public Service Commission will face the Labour Committee on 9 January.

All nominees are expected to bring their National Identification cards, academic and professional certificates, and other relevant testimonials.

They have also been asked to provide clearance letters and certificates of compliance from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, and a Credit Reference Bureau (CRB).

The notice also called on Kenyans willing to provide input on the vetting process to submit their views by 3 January.

“The Clerk of the National Assembly hereby invites members of the public to submit any representations they may have, by way of written statements on oath (affidavits), with supporting evidence, contesting the suitability of the candidates for appointment to the offices to which they have been nominated,” part of the statement by National Assembly Clerk Samuel Njoroge read.