Ministers' relatives picked as Kenya's envoys

• Close relatives of cabinet ministers and 2007 election losers are on the latest list
• Four of the new envoys named in the list released by the Foreign Affairs ministry are siblings of cabinet ministers
• Foreign Affairs assistant minister Richard Onyonka termed the appointments as “demoralising” to career diplomats

Close relatives of cabinet ministers and 2007 election losers are on the latest list of Kenya’s ambassadors and high commissioners.

Four of the new envoys named in the list released by the Foreign Affairs ministry are siblings of cabinet ministers, while four others are parliamentary losers during the last general election.

Also on the list are former provincial administrators believed to have taken sides and furthered the political interests of the three main protagonists during the 2007 presidential election, President Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.

The full list of Kenya’s representatives to the 51 fully fledged missions released by the ministry to coincide with the Public Service Week contains the names of Kenya’s new ambassadors and high commissioners or those whose terms have been extended.

That four of the envoys have their siblings in the cabinet while another is a twin brother to an assistant minister of government goes a long way to demonstrate how political connections influence appointments to key positions in government at the expense of merit.

Foreign Affairs assistant minister Richard Onyonka termed the appointments as “demoralising” to career diplomats who had served the country for decades without being appointed to such positions.

“It is very wrong and goes against the spirit of reforming our institutions of governance for people to be appointed simply because they are brothers and sisters of ministers and MPs when we have people who have served in the ministry for as many as thirty years without being made ambassadors,” Mr Onyonka stated.

He called for a law to ensure that even presidential appointments met certain standards.

The appointments also fly in the face of pronouncements by Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Public Service Minister Dalmas Otieno that the government would no longer tolerate not only nepotism but also tribalism in appointments to public service.

Speaking during the launch of the Public Service Week, the PM said the government would take stern action against government officials who practice nepotism and tribalism in making appointments to public service.

Mr Otieno on his part directed government officials heading institutions where tribal balance was not enforced to formulate ways of reversing the trend.

Those in the list include Dr Wenwa Akinyi, Kenya’s Consul General in Los Angeles, USA. Amb. Akinyi is a younger sister to the Prime Minister. Also on the list is Ms Catherine Muigai Mwangi who is Kenya’s ambassador to the Republic of Ireland. Ms Mwangi is a sister of Public Health Minister Beth Mugo and once served as a communications director at Kenya Airways.

Ms Mishi Masika Mwatsahu whose term as Kenya’s High Commissioner to Pakistan has been extended is a sister to Transport minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere while the country’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO is Dr Mary Khimulu, a sister of Co-operatives minister Joseph Nyagah. Ms Mwatsahu was first appointed to the post when her brother served as the Foreign Affairs minister while Dr Khimulu is a long serving official of the World Bible Society.

Prof Sospeter Machage who retains his posting as Kenya’s ambassador to Russia, is on the other hand the twin brother of assistant minister Dr Wilfred Machage. Prior to his appointment, Prof. Machage used to run a private hospital in Kilgoris town.

Notably, the list confirms Mr Addison Chebukaka as the country’s new high commissioner to London, replacing Mr Muchemi who was recalled several months back but is said to have declined to hand over office.

Contacted, the Foreign Affairs Ministry sought to distance itself from the appointments, saying that the prerogative of picking the country’s ambassadors and high commissioners rests with the President.

“The appointment of ambassadors and high commissioners is the prerogative of the President. They are the President’s representatives overseas so he appoints people he thinks can best represent the country wherever they are,” said the Director of Public Affairs and Communication at the Ministry, Prof Egara Kabaji.

The head of the Presidential Press Service, Isaiah Kabira also declined to comment on the appointments when contacted, saying that he had to study the list first.

“I need to establish its authenticity first, then we can discuss it,” he told the Nation.

Another ambassador with family ties with a top official in the grand coalition is Elkanah Odembo, Kenya’s envoy to France. Mr Odembo is a brother in law to the government chief whip, Jakoyo Midiwo.

Among politicians who lost during the last general elections only to find their way to plum ambassadorial positions include former Kilome MP Mutinda Mutiso.

Mr Mutiso contested the seat on Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka’s ODM-Kenya ticket but lost to Transport Assistant minister John Harun Mwau. Mr Mutiso has since posted to Dar es Salaam to head the Kenyan mission.

Stephen Tarus, a former assistant minister who resisted the huge ODM wave in the North Rift to unsuccessfully defend his Emgwen seat on a PNU ticket is the new high commissioner to Australia, a key diplomatic posting.

Another huge beneficiary of political horse trading is one time powerful security minister Julius Sunkuli, who stepped aside to give the PNU candidate Gideon Konchella a head-start in the Kilgoris by-election.

For his troubles, Mr Sunkuli is the country’s ambassador to Beijing, China, another coveted diplomatic posting. Before his posting, the once powerful minister was running a law firm based at Bruce House in Nairobi.

Mr Kembi Gitura, Kenya’s new ambassador to Brussels, Belgium and the European Union also lost his Kiharu seat during the last elections only to land the plum job, as is Kenya’s new man in Vienna, Austria, immediate former North Horr MP Ukur Yatani.

Former Nairobi Provincial Commissioner, Francis Sigei who was accused in some quarters of playing a partisan role in the last election is the new high commissioner to Nigeria.

Other former provincial administrators who have found their way to the diplomatic world include Franklin Esipila, the new Kenya ambassador to Ethiopia and John Abduba who is Kenya’s high commissioner to Zimbabwe.

The ministry joins a long list of government agencies that have come under scrutiny over the manner in which appointments to key posts have been made.

Ministers have been roundly condemned for breaking laws guiding appointments to parastatals and agencies to handpick their cronies.
Parliament set a precedent last month when it revoked the re-appointment of Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) director Aaron Ringera and his two deputies, Fatuma Sichale after the president breached the law.

The Parliamentary Committee on delegated legislation chaired by nominated MP Amina Abdalla is currently scrutinising appointments made by six cabinet ministers to check whether they comply with the law or not. The ministers include William Ntimama, Fred Gumo, Najib Balala, Chirau Ali Mwakwere, Henry Kosgey and Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o.