State to push Kituyi’s bid for UN job

The Kenya Government has promised to push former Cabinet minister Mukhisa Kituyi’s application for a top United Nations job.

Foreign Affairs assistant minister Richard Onyonka said Dr Kituyi had contacted the ministry’s international jobs section over his bid to be the new head of the Geneva-based UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). “If there’s an opportunity, Kenya will support him as he is qualified,” said Mr Onyonka. “He is gifted and talented.”

Diplomatic battle

Our sister publication, the Business Daily, on Thursday reported that the UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon was headed for his biggest diplomatic battle yet over the position.

Rifts had appeared in the UN over Mr Ki-Moon’s plan to re-appoint the current director-general Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand, whose four-year term comes to a close on August 31, the paper reported.

Traditionally, the directorship of UNCTAD has been held by candidates from the developing world, making the G77 an important constituency for anyone wishing to head the organisation.