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{
    "id": 616514,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/616514/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 257,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Okoth",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12482,
        "legal_name": "Kenneth Odhiambo Okoth",
        "slug": "kenneth-odhiambo-okoth"
    },
    "content": "appointments, the Constitution says in Article 152(2); that the President shall nominate and with the approval of the National Assembly appoint CSs. The people we vetted in the Committee, whom we are now discussing, remain nothing more than nominees at this moment. They will not be appointed CSs until this House approves their nomination. I am asking Members of this House that the list which was brought has not met the basic mathematical requirement regarding issues of gender. This is an illegality and an unconstitutional issue that the House is seized of. As we proceed, we should say at some point; that we do not feel that this is pushing Kenya in the right direction. A Cabinet of 24 Members should have, at least, eight women. We have only five women. This is something we should push the President to rectify. It is instructive to note that even as we proceed to approve these nominees, any “nobody” can injunct Parliament and stop us from doing so. Kenyans are at liberty to go to court to challenge the constitutionality of any process or seek an interpretation from the courts. What does this look like politically in the landscape ahead for the President? It looks like months of litigation and arguments at the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Courts, without the President having the benefit of his nominees. Sometimes even as we support the President we must help to ensure that he makes decisions that are solid – that we are supporting decisions that will not be challenged later. That is my first point. The second thing I am concerned about is the letter and the spirit of Constitution, which says that appointments to public institutions must reflect regional and ethnic diversity of Kenya, including marginalized people and minorities. My brother, Hon. Chachu, has just told this House that there has never been a Gabra who has been nominated for appointment as CS or PS. As the Member of Parliament for Kibra, I confirm that there are many educated and qualified professionals among the Nubi Community but there has never been a member from the Nubi community who has been nominated for appointment as CS or PS. There is a culture of exclusion in appointments of this nature in this country. While people might argue that it is impossible to include everybody, it is possible to set a tone of inclusivity. There is a tone of exclusivity in appointments of this nature, considering the recent audit report of the Public Service Commission (PSC) on ethnic composition of staff, for instance, at State House and in the Executive branch of the Government generally. Forty-five per cent of the members of staff at State House come from one ethnic community. Another 15 per cent come from a second ethnic community. How is it possible that in the President’s office 60 per cent of the staff come from only two ethnic communities? What message does it send about merit, possibilities and inclusiveness to young people who are not from those two ethnic communities?"
}