Energy CS Revokes Controversial Board Appointments

Written By John Mutiso  📝

Energy Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma has bowed to pressure from Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki and revoked her board appointments at the Rural Electrification and Energy Corporation (REREC) that put her at loggerheads with the Council of Governors (CoG).

After the Attorney-General warned her that she had broken the law by excluding representatives from the devolved governments, Dr. Juma appointed four CoG nominees as directors in the power agency.

Mr. Kariuki directed Dr. Juma to revoke, for the second time, an April 20 Kenya Gazette notice that appointed six REREC directors, and make new board appointments in consultation with county chiefs to avoid further litigation.

The minister revoked the appointments of three of the six directors in a May 17 notice and appointed four directors from the devolved governments, including CoG chief executive Mary Mwiti.

“The Cabinet Secretary for Energy appoints…to be members of Rural Electrification and Energy Corporation board. The appointment of Samson Maundu, Henry Rono and Hassan Mohamud Haji is revoked,” said the May 17 Kenya Gazette notice.

The Energy Act of 2019 empowers the Cabinet Secretary to appoint three directors and the Council of Governors to appoint four.

Dr. Juma appointed the six directors on April 14 to serve at the State agency for three years under the Energy Act of 2006, which expired in March 2019.

She revoked the April 14 Kenya Gazette and appointed the six directors via the Energy Act of 2019, prompting protests from the Council of Governors.

“It is our advice that the ministry should revoke the fresh gazette notice to the extent that they purport to make appointments that should be made by the council,” Mr. Kihara said in a May 6 letter to Dr. Juma seen by the Business Daily.

“This will avert unnecessary litigation while ensuring that the corporation has a functional board without undue delay,” he added in the letter copied to the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua.

Activist Martin Njoroge sued Dr. Juma for ignoring the CoG nominees and using the defunct Energy Act of 2006, which gave the Cabinet Secretary the right to appoint eight of the 11 REREC board members.

Njoroge claims in the lawsuit that the Cabinet Secretary appointed the six directors in violation of a law that was repealed in 2019.

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