Revealed: Why Parliament Rejected Petitions Against Cabinet Secretary Nominees- Insults, Job Requests, and Valid Concerns
Many petitions against the Cabinet secretary nominees were dismissed due to a mix of insults and job requests from the public.
Reviewing petitions reveals that a majority of Kenyans resorted to insulting the nominees instead of providing a detailed, sworn affidavit explaining their objections to the Cabinet appointments.
One petition stated, “I am qualified for the CS Treasury position, I understand economics well and would appreciate your consideration,” while another simply asked, “Please give me a job; here are my qualifications.”
Several petitions merely stated “I oppose” or “I support” without providing any rationale.
Other petitions raised issues already resolved by investigative authorities, resulting in the nominees being cleared.
One petitioner criticized a nominee for a high-ranking position, claiming that during their tenure as a university class representative, they denied fellow students the chance to cheat on exams.
Some petitions raised general concerns about the nominees but lacked evidence to substantiate their claims.
In these cases, the memorandums were merely acknowledged for record-keeping purposes, with the option for the nominees to respond if they chose to.
However, not all petitions lacking an affidavit but addressing valid concerns were discarded. Issues from these petitions were converted into questions for the nominees during the vetting process.
Parliament received 1,368 petitions overall, but 157 of these, submitted via email, did not meet the requirements outlined in section 6 (9) of the Parliamentary Approvals Act.
During the review, 32 petitions were deemed irrelevant as they contained job requests rather than concerns about the nominees.
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An additional 17 petitions were ruled inadmissible due to being unsigned and lacking legal commissioning.
Among the Cabinet secretary nominees facing the most opposition were Kipchumba Murkomen, Hassan Joho, and Aden Duale. Murkomen, nominated for CS Youth, Creative Economy, and Sport, received 92 petitions; Joho, nominated for Mining and Blue Economy, received 72; and Duale, nominated for CS Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry, received 69.
Kithure Kindiki, the nominee for Home Affairs CS, received 68 petitions, and David Chirchir, nominated for Roads, garnered 58.
Defense CS nominee Soipan Tuya received 48 petitions, while Alice Wahome, nominated for Lands, Public Works, Housing, and Urban Development, faced 40.
Wycliffe Oparanya had 33 petitions against his nomination, John Mbadi, the nominee for Finance, had 31, Alfred Mutua for Labour and Social Protection had 23, Education CS nominee Julius Ogamba had 21, and both Salim Mvurya (Trade and Investment) and Rebecca Miano (Tourism and Wildlife) had 19 each.
Opiyo Wandayi, nominated for Energy and Petroleum CS, faced 11 petitions, Justin Muturi (Public Service) had 16, and Health CS nominee Debra Mlongo had six petitions.
Margaret Nyambura Ndung’u (CS for Information, Communication, and Technology) and Andrew Mwhia Karanja (Agriculture and Livestock) each received just one petition challenging their nominations.
Revealed: Why Parliament Rejected Petitions Against Cabinet Secretary Nominees- Insults, Job Requests, and Valid Concerns
