Azimio La Umoja lawmakers rejected five Cabinet Secretaries nominees who they argued were not fit to occupy key offices.
This has led to a divided committee among Kenya’s National Assembly members who are expected to vet President William Ruto’s Cabinet nominees.
Members of the House Committee on Appointments (CoA) from the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya side are uncomfortable with former Meru Senator Mithika Linturi (Agriculture), former Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa (Public Service), Ms Penina Malonza (Tourism), and Zacharia Njeru (Lands).
Another nominee who didn’t sail is former Central Bank of Kenya Governor Njuguna Ndung’u who was nominated for the National Treasury and Planning docket.
Insiders from the Azimio group say the nominees are not suitable and that the President should nominate “other suitable Kenyans”.
“These nominees are not suitable to serve in the positions we vetted them for. If the committee will not agree with our view, we shall definitely draft our minority report,” an Azimio member of the committee explained.
A minority report or a dissenting opinion by committee members on a matter before them is provided for in the Standing Orders. It is basically a protest note by committee members against a decision taken by the majority. The dissenting opinion may be appended to the main report.
The committee has until Thursday this week to submit the report either recommending the approval or rejection of the nominees and have it adopted by the House by November 3.
However, the Notice Paper, which lists all the business before the House on a particular sitting day, shows that the committee’s report will be considered in the afternoon today.
Leader of Minority Opiyo Wandayi (Ugunja) had just said that Linturi had a litany of cases in court that may affect his suitability. In his response, Linturi said: “Litany of cases in court is an understatement. I have 35 civil cases.” His response saw Speaker Moses Wetang’ula remark: “you are a witness who spoke too much.”
Kwanza MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi, a member of the committee, wondered where he will get the time to work given the many court cases he has to deal with.
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