Uhuru PSs to serve longer in Ruto team after vetting hitch
President Dr William Ruto (centre), his Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua (left), and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi nominee at State House in Nairobi on September 27, 2022. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NMG
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Principal Secretaries (PSs) will continue calling shots in the Kenya Kwanza administration after Parliament stopped vetting 51 nominees.
This follows a High Court ruling halting the ongoing vetting of PSs by Parliament, pending the determination of a case filed by the Law Society.
Parliament started vetting the nominees on Monday and the process was to end on Friday.
Already nearly half of the 51 nominees had been vetted before Speaker Moses Wetang’ula terminated the exercise.
The LSK says in the petition the list of 51 PSs as presented to Parliament did not take into account the regional and tribal balance, two-thirds gender rule principle, persons with disabilities and the youth.
Justice Nzioki wa Makau of the Employment and Labour Court certified the case as urgent
This is the first time that the vetting of the nominees for PSs position has been stopped by the court.
This will present a unique situation for President William Ruto who will have to run his administration with PSs appointed by the former regime of Mr Kenyatta.
It took Mr Kenyatta two months to have his PS nominees sworn into office following the March 2013 General Election.
But the High Court ruling and Mr Wetang’ula’s directive stopping the vetting of Dr Ruto PSs is set to hand Mr Kenyatta’s PSs extra time in office.
Dr Ruto was sworn in on September 15 and named his PS nominees on November 5, 2022, and submitted the names to Parliament for vetting.
The Constitution provides that the President shall nominate and with the approval of Parliament appoint Principal Secretaries.
Mr Wetang’ula said whereas he conveyed the names of the nominees to the House and committed them to various departmental committees for vetting, the Employment and Labour Relations Court had granted orders temporarily staying the vetting process pending hearings scheduled for November 21.
“Now, therefore, it is notified to all chairpersons of departmental committees, all persons nominated for appointment as Principal Secretaries and the general public that the vetting of persons nominated to serve as Principal Secretaries is hereby suspended forthwith until further notice,” ruled Mr Wetang’ula.
Departmental committees, which had already concluded the vetting proceedings and approval hearings, have been directed to suspend any activity relating to reporting to the House on proceedings until further notice.
This means that the outgoing PSs’ will continue to earn a salary and enjoy the trappings of power such as chauffeur-driven cars, bodyguards and hefty travel and entertainment allowances.
The PSs will also draw more money in housing, travel and entertainment allowances, medical cover, and other perks.
Mr Kenyatta’s Principal Secretaries, including those who applied and failed to be nominated by the new administration, earned Sh874,500 per month.
However, the new PSs under the Ruto administration will take home a monthly pay of Sh765,000 after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) slashed the pay last August.
Dr Ruto retained six PSs who worked under Mr Kenyatta and are set to continue serving should they be cleared by Parliament.
In 2013, Mr Kenyatta retained only six PSs who served in the Grand Coalition government under President Mwai Kibaki.
