All eyes on Parliament as MPs begin vetting Ruto's cabinet nominees

All eyes are on the National Assembly as Members of Parliament begin the vetting process for President William Ruto's Cabinet Secretary nominees.

The four-day exercise will see both reappointed CSs and new faces appear before the National Assembly's Committee on Appointments, chaired by Speaker Moses Wetang'ula.

Suna East MP Junet Mohamed who is also the incoming Minority leader at the National Assembly made it clear that it will not be business as usual during the vetting process.

"This time in Parliament, I want to tell members who are my colleagues that vetting is not going to be business as usual. If somebody is not suitable, capable and doesn't have the capacity, we are going to throw them out. We must do justice to Kenyans. We must do our work properly this time," he said.

In his recent nomination for his 'broad-based cabinet', President Ruto retained 10 out of the 22 Cabinet secretaries he fired upon taking office.

Members of the public had until Wednesday to submit petitions on the nominees' suitability.

Already, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has written to the National Assembly asking the House not to approve the nomination of Wycliffe Oparanya as Cabinet Secretary over integrity issues.

In a letter dated July 29, 2024, addressed to the Clerk of the National Assembly, EACC highlighted that Oparanya, the Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development CS nominee is facing a graft case.

Also, Bunge la Mayuts-Kenya has filed a petition calling for the rejection of at least 12 nominees for failing the integrity test.

President William Ruto flanked by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi addresses the nation to announce new Cabinet Secretaries in his government at State House in Nairobi on July 19, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS)

Vetting schedule

Interior Cabinet Secretary nominee Kithure Kindiki will be the first to appear Thursday at 8 am before the committee where he will be seeking to convince the MPs to give him a second chance to serve in the same position which the Head of State had appointed him to serve in September 2022 when the Cabinet was dismissed.

Others who will also be vetted on Thursday include Dr Debra Barasa (Health), Soipan Tuya (Defence), Alice Wahome (Lands) and Julius Ogamba (Education).

On Friday, the committee will vet nominees Andrew Mwihia (Agriculture), Aden Duale (Environment), Eric Muriithi (Water), Davis Chirchir (Transport), and Margaret Ndung'u (ICT).

On Saturday, John Mbadi (Treasury), Salim Mvurya (Trade), Rebecca Miano (Tourism), Opiyo Wandayi (Energy), and Kipchumba Murkomen (Sports) will face the vetting committee.

On Sunday, Ali Hassan Joho (Mining), Alfred Mutua (Labour), Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives), Justin Muturi (Public Service), and Stella Lang'at (Gender) will be vetted.

The vetting panel and the public are keenly interested in the current net worth of the reappointed nominees, two years after they took office.

In October 2022, the previous CSs who have been since retained disclosed their wealth.

Kithure Kindiki declared Sh544 million, Aden Duale Sh851 million, Alice Wahome Sh218 million, Soipan Tuya Sh156 million, Kipchumba Murkomen Sh550 million, Rebecca Miano Sh397 million and Davis Chirchir Sh482 million.