How ODM Rescued Wycliffe Oparanya’s CS Job
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) threatened to reject President William Ruto’s offer for Cabinet Secretary positions, leading to the National Assembly Committee on Appointments approving former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya.
This approval followed a four-hour closed-door negotiation led by House Speaker Moses Wetang’ula. Oparanya is expected to be appointed as the Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives.
The committee initially planned to take less than 30 minutes to approve the pre-prepared report recommending all nominees for appointment.
However, the committee entered a closed-door meeting, expelling the secretariat from County Hall chambers to debate which nominees to approve.
Although the ODM committee members reportedly had no issues with the nominees, they were unaware of the plan by the Kenya Kwanza side.
The government side believed that Ms. Stella Lang’at did not perform well during her interview and did not deserve to be appointed as the Gender, Culture, the Arts, and Heritage CS.
Leader of Majority Kimani Ichung’wah, after tabling the report, said: “Considering the Committee on Appointments’ findings in its second report, the House approves the nominees and rejects Ms. Stella Lang’at’s appointment.”
Additionally, the Kenya Kwanza side suggested rejecting Oparanya’s nomination due to his issues with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
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The EACC opposed Oparanya’s nomination in a letter to the National Assembly clerk, citing a pending corruption investigation that Oparanya has contested.
“At this point, Junet Mohammed demanded either the committee includes Oparanya among the approved nominees or ODM rejects the CS slots allocated to it,” said an anonymous committee member.
Mr. Mohammed did not respond to inquiries about the incident.
The committee led by Mr. Wetang’ula has now paved the way for the nominees’ swearing-in today.
Ms. Lang’at’s performance during the oral vetting, as a career administrator, was a critical factor.
“The nominee failed to demonstrate adequate knowledge of issues related to the Ministry of Gender, Culture, the Arts, and Heritage,” the committee’s report, adopted by the MPs, states.
How ODM Rescued Wycliffe Oparanya’s CS Job
