NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 13 -Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery has pleaded with President Uhuru Kenyatta to resubmit Monica Juma’s name to Parliament as his nominee for Secretary to the Cabinet.
Nkaissery says Juma has an exemplary service record as his Principal Secretary and the letter which led to her rejection in the National Assembly had his approval.
“I would wish to urge His Excellency the President to re-submit Amb Juma’s name and for MPs to look beyond personal interests and work for the good of our nation and not to deny Kenyans the best service,” he appealed.
The National Assembly rejected Juma’s nomination as Secretary to the Cabinet on the grounds that she wrote a letter to the clerks of Parliament taking issue with MPs frequenting her office asking for favors.
In a statement on Saturday and while expressing his disappointment over her rejection by the National Assembly, Nkaissery said Juma has demonstrated exemplary professional and integrity credentials and thus she deserved the position.
“She has also managed to restore the sanctity of the Office of the President but was sacrificed in the political altar of self interests and deceit of a few,” he lamented.
He said the letter reflected the position of the entire Interior and National Coordination of Government ministry.
He further asked Members of Parliament to look beyond personal interests and work for the good of the country by not denying Kenyans the best service.
“It is worthy to note the letter she wrote under which she is being victimized was not an individual basis but a collective agreement as the Ministry of Interior in regards to operations and for consistency purposes,” he explained.
“It should also be noted that we met the Parliamentary committee early this year and developed a framework for engagement which was agreed upon.”
On Thursday, National Assembly Committee on Administration and National Security Committee Chairman Asman Kamama explained that their recommendation was based on the fact that Juma displayed arrogance and insensitivity to the needs and concerns of the public and their elected leaders.
“The nominee lacked demonstrable passion to serve the public and their elected leaders,” the committee said.
The committee noted a letter she wrote to the two Clerks of Parliament which they termed was in bad faith and aimed at denying MPs access to a public office.
“The letter written by the nominee contravened the spirit of Article 1 of the Constitution of Kenya which provides that the sovereign power belongs to the people of the Kenya and shall be exercised through their democratically elected representatives. By denying elected representatives access to a public office, the nominee is denying Kenyans a chance to exercise their sovereign authority and is a breach of Article 2(1) of the Constitution,” the committee said in its report.
The Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution CIC has since threatened to the committee for contravening the law in their rejection of Monica Juma, who was the nominee to the position of Secretary to the Cabinet.
The National Gender and Equality Commission have since called on President Kenyatta to re-submit Monica Juma’s name to the National Assembly as his Secretary to the Cabinet nominee.
-capitalfm.co.ke
