The Azimio One Kenya Coalition has urged its Members of Parliament to reject the appointment of nominated Cabinet Secretaries facing criminal charges.
Azimio co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka speaking in Nairobi yesterday cited President William Ruto’s move to nominate CSs who had pending integrity cases in court as uncalled for.
“The selection of cabinet secretaries, some of whom have active criminal cases is questionable. This was not procedurally done on the basis of competencies and personal integrity. We shall direct our MPs to withhold approval of those who do not meet the Chapter six threshold of our constitution,” he said.
The CSs facing criminal charges are Public Service CS nominee Aisha Jumwa who is the former Kilifi woman representative, and is currently facing murder charges over the death of Jola Gumbao, an Orange Democratic Movement supporter.
Gumbao was shot dead on October 15, 2019 after chaos broke out at the home of Reuben Katana, an ODM candidate in the Ganda ward by election in Kilifi County.
Jumwa is also charged with a Sh19 million graft case.
She denied the charges and said both cases are a political witch hunt.
Mithika Linturi, former Meru Senator and agriculture CS nominee, was last year charged in court for attempted rape in a hotel in Nanyuki.
Linturi is said to have intentionally and unlawfully raped a 36-year-old woman on January 2021.
He however denied the accusations and cited them as politically instigated.
Kalonzo asked its Azimio lawmakers to oppose their nomination when their names are tabled in parliament for vetting.
He also challenged Ruto’s failure to nominate more women to the cabinet in spite of his campaign promise to allocate half of the cabinet positions to women.
“On September 27, the Ruto administration unveiled their choices of cabinet secretaries. Of their total number, only seven women were named contrary to the campaign promise of a 50-50 cabinet,” he said.
Other than the appointment of CSs, Azimio also criticized Ruto’s speech on Thursday during the opening of the 13th Parliament saying that he failed to address issues facing many Kenyans such as the high cost of living.