Nyeri county assembly approves Caroline Karugu as deputy governor
Caroline Karugu in a past meeting. She was approved as the deputy governor by Nyeri County Assembly. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Those who supported the motion, cited her strong credentials while those who opposed her nomination claimed she is not in touch with Nyeri residents
Nyeri County Assembly has approved the appointment of Caroline Karugu to the post of Deputy Governor.
The assembly approved her by a simple majority on Wednesday shortly after 7pm following an afternoon-long debate in the chambers.
The debate which started at 2pm stirred praise for the nominee as well as opposition and criticism from members of the county assembly.
HIGH SCORE
While Ms Karugu scored high during vetting by the county’s appointment committee, it was up to the assembly to approve or reject her nomination.
Leader of Majority James Kanyugo tabled the report seeking its adoption to give a green light for appointment of Ms Karugu.
Those who supported the motion, cited her strong credentials while those who opposed her nomination claimed she is not in touch with Nyeri residents.
“She has the quality we need as a county to move forward,” said Rware MCA Paul Kanyari.
A moment of anxiety, however, engulfed the chamber momentarily when a section of the members opposed her appointment.
Led by the Deputy Speaker Samuel Gichuki, they questioned the nominee’s academic credentials, arguing that the appointments committee lacked the technical ability to scrutinise her academic papers.
Governor Mutahi Kahiga nominated Ms Karugu as his deputy last month. He took leadership of the county following the death of Wahome Gakuru late last year.
Ms Karugu was recently picked by President Uhuru Kenyatta as an independent non-executive director of the Geothermal Development Company Board and was one of Dr Gakuru's campaign advisors.
Currently, she is a candidate for a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree in Finance at USIU-A in collaboration with the Columbia Business School in New York.
Ms Karugu is also the chief executive officer of Jabali Microserve Ltd, a commercial subsidiary of Jitegemee Trust.
In 2010, she won the prestigious World Young Credit Union Professionals award sponsored by the World Council of Credit Unions in the United States.
