Monica Juma likely to take over as next Interior Cabinet Secretary

President William Ruto's National Security Advisor, Dr Monicah Juma, has been mentioned as the likely incoming Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, in changes to be announced soon.

Largely viewed as one of the country's top diplomats and senior security officials courtesy of her work and performance at the Interior and Defence ministries that culminated in her current role as National Security Advisor to the president and secretary to the country's top security organ, the National Security Council (NSC), Juma, if appointed, will be a breath of fresh air to an already dented position whose predecessor's acts of omission or commission remain under scrutiny by Kenyans over the spate of abductions and deaths that occurred during and after the June protests.

Juma, if appointed, will further take over the daunting task of rekindling Kenyans' trust in its internal security organs, particularly the National Police Service which grapples with a huge perception problem amongst Kenyans due to its handling of the Gen Z protests and constant corruption claims.

Described as a no-nonsense official, Juma already has her name attached to a series of reforms in the security sector, having served as Interior PS during former President Uhuru Kenyatta's first term.

That means that if she gets the job, Juma will be traversing a familiar territory that she served in and helped initiate reforms, some of which did not sit well with some politicians who in return labelled her as arrogant and later denied her approval to the slot of Secretary to the Cabinet in June 2015.

Fight against terrorism

Insiders credit her for having been instrumental in the work that led to the development of the inaugural strategy on counter-terrorism and violent extremism that led to the creation of a multi-agency approach to tackling security challenges.

Courtesy of that approach, the country has managed to thwart multiple terror threats and diminish Al-Shabaab's activities along Kenya's border with Somalia.

Before then, Juma had served as Kenya's Ambassador to Djibouti, Ethiopia, the African Union, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) during the late President Mwai Kibaki's tenure.

When President Uhuru Kenyatta took over in 2013, she was maintained as a senior government employee serving as PS for Interior and Foreign Affairs (between June 2013 and January 2016).

Before serving as Interior PS, Juma had also served at the Defence PS, where she was instrumental in strengthening procurement systems and bolstering the professional stature of the Department of Defence (DoD).

During the Jubilee administration's second term, Juma was appointed CS for Foreign Affairs in 2018 replacing veteran diplomat Amina Mohamed.

In 2020, she was appointed to the powerful Defence docket as CS replacing Raychelle Omamo who had held the docket for seven years.

Towards the end of 2021, Kenyatta appointed her as CS for Energy and assigned her the huge task of initiating his energy policy for the country, following the resignation of Charles Keter who ventured into politics.

When the Kenya Kwanza regime took over leadership in August 2022, many assumed that the bad ties President Ruto had with his predecessor would see all his ministers sent packing. This is what happened, except for Juma, who was later in March last year, appointed as the National Security Advisor to the President and made Secretary to the NSC.

Apolitical

Many applauded the move, describing her as an asset courtesy of her professionalism which saw her remain apolitical in the previous regime until her last day in office.

The role retained her as a ranking officer in three consecutive regimes, during which her profile remained unscathed and without scandals.

Kenyans will be keen to see whether her performance as CS Interior, if given the role, will further cement her legacy and bolster police relations with members of the public.

Her in-tray is already full, a fact that was reiterated by its former holder, now Deputy President Kithure Kindiki yesterday.

"I pray that my successor will build on the gains we made and succeed in rolling back the emerging reports of mysterious disappearances, abductions, and femicide," Kindiki said, urging his successor to build on the work accomplished during his tenure.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi currently holds the position in an acting capacity pending the appointment of its substantive holder.

If appointed, Juma will further take on the huge task of mobilising resources to fund some of the reforms recommended by former Chief Justice David Maraga for the National Police Service and the prisons.