MPs to vet Ruto’s nine new envoy nominees next week
In the recent shake-up in Kenya’s Foreign Service, President Ruto has appointed new ambassadors and redeployed senior envoys in a move billed as aligning the diplomatic corps with his administration's Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda
Nine nominees for the positions of high commissioner, ambassador and consul-general will appear before the National Assembly next Wednesday and Thursday for vetting.
The nine were recently appointed by President William Ruto with National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula tasking tha National Assembly Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee, which chaired by Belgut MP Nelson Koech, to conduct approval hearings.
Members of the public have been asked to submit any representations they may have, by way of written statements on oath (affidavits) with supporting evidence, contesting the suitability of the candidates for appointment to the offices they have been nominated to.
In a directive issued by the National Assembly Clerk, Samuel Njoroge, members of the public have been requested to submit any representations they may have, in the form of written statements on oath (affidavits) with supporting evidence, contesting the suitability of the candidates for appointment to the offices for which they have been nominated.
The deadline for submissions is next Monday before 5 pm.
The memoranda may be forwarded to the Clerk of the National Assembly, P.O. Box 41842-00100, Nairobi; hand-delivered to the Office of the Clerk, Main Parliament Buildings, Nairobi; or emailed to [email protected] to be received on or before next Monday,” Njoroge stated.
In the recent shake-up in Kenya’s Foreign Service, President Ruto has appointed new ambassadors and redeployed senior envoys in a move billed as aligning the diplomatic corps with his administration’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
If approved by Parliament, former Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore will be the new ambassador for Kenya in Namibia, taking over from George Orina, ambassador to Ethiopia and permanent representative to the African Union, who was been reassigned to Dublin, with his Addis Ababa role filled by Galma Boru, who was Kenya’s inaugural envoy to Jakarta.
Jakarta will now be led by political appointee Abdirashid Salat Abdille while Henry Wambuma, acting chief of protocol, moves to Bujumbura.
Ankara gets a new envoy in Anthony Mwaniki Muchiri, who previously served as the Public Service Commission boss, replacing Uhuru-era appointee Leonard Boiyo.
London’s Catherine Karemu has been moved to Dar es Salaam with her post in the UK going to Maurice Odhiambo Makoloo, who is serving as Kenya’s ambassador in Vienna.
Joseph Masila, until recently director for economic and commercial affairs at the Foreign Office, will head to Riyadh, replacing Mohamed Ramadhan Ruwange, who is shifted to Arusha as consul general.
Ruwange has been demoted from his post in Saudi Arabia.
The reassignments, which also touch consular and deputy head of mission posts from Arusha to Ottawa, suggest a careful balancing of political patronage, professional rotation, and strategic emphasis.
Also among the notable changes is the redeployment of Mohamed Ramadhan Ruwange from Saudi Arabia to the Consul General in Arusha.
Ruwange’s post in Riyadh will be filled by Joseph Masila, a career diplomat from the Foreign Ministry.
The changes also touch Kenya’s consular hubs: Jayne Jepkorir, a political appointee, becomes consul general in Dubai, replacing David Iboko Lokemer, a former intelligence officer who served just over a year; Judy Kiaria Nkumiri, also a political appointee, is named consul general in Goma, DRC.
Mohamed Amin Sheikh Nuh takes the role in Berlin, while Kipkosgei Toroitich reshuffled from Seoul to Berlin in under a year, is now bound for Kampala.
Lucy Kiruthu will head to Bangkok as the ambassador of Kenya after being reassigned from being the Deputy Director General at the Foreign Office responsible for research and policy analysis.
