Splinter groups within the National Assembly’s Appointments Committee are threatening to derail President William Ruto’s administration.
Azimio La Umoja lawmakers rejected five Cabinet Secretary nominees, claiming they were unfit to hold key positions.
Aisha Jumwa (Public Service), Mithika Linturi (Agriculture), Peninah Malonza (Tourism), Zacharia Njeru (Lands), and Njunguna Ndung’u (Treasury) were among those whose nominations were said to be in jeopardy.
The fate of these five cabinet nominees is now in doubt after it was revealed that the schism may spread to the National Assembly, which is set to debate the list.
Sources within the Azimio group, who did not want to go on record, 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 said.
The Standing Orders allow for a minority report or dissenting opinion by committee members on a matter before them. It is essentially a letter of protest from committee members against a decision made by the majority. The dissenting opinion may be included as an appendix to the main report.
The committee has until Thursday of this week to table its report recommending approval or rejection of the nominees, which must be adopted by the House by November 3.
However, the Notice Paper, which lists all of the business before the House on a given sitting day, indicates that the committee’s report will be tabled today and considered the following afternoon.
During his vetting, Linturi divulged to the Committee of Appointment led by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula that he has 35 active civil cases in various courts.
Linturi also failed to clearly explain how he would transform the Agriculture docket. Two key question MPs felt he answered haphazardly was how Genetically Modified Organism crops (GMO) would benefit farmers and how his manifesto aligned with the Kenya Kwanza agricultural agendas.
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.
“He should clear his name first before we consider him for any nomination,” Mr Wanyonyi said during the vetting.
On the other hand, Peninah Malonza’s nomination to the Tourism docket was opposed, with Azimio MPs unsatisfied with her performance during the vetting exercise.
Azimio MPs are said to have expressed their reservations indicating that she was not well-versed with her mandate.
During her interview, lawmakers corrected Malonza severally as she often misquoted facts and legislation.
“She is timid and lacks coherence for the docket she has been nominated, which is crucial in marketing the country to the outside world. Her evading of questions during the vetting exercise makes her appointment doubtful,” a committee member said.
During her vetting, committee members said she was not articulate in her answers. At some point, Mr Wetang’ula told her to avoid skirting around the issues raised by the members.
Mr Njeru was described as lacking the required competence and experience to bring change to the ministry that is critical to President Ruto’s economic recovery agenda.
On the other hand, Prof Ndungu is blamed for overseeing the free fall of the Kenyan shilling during his time at the helm of CBK. A report by a Parliamentary ad hoc committee in 2012 called for the removal of Prof Ndung’u, accusing him of colluding with commercial banks to make “abnormal” profits.
However, during his vetting, Prof Ndung’u denied the accusations, terming them part of a plot to have him removed from CBK.
President William Ruto will name replacements who will be vetted by the committee should the five nominees be rejected.
