MPs to finalise vetting of envoy nominees

Vetting for the 27 Ambassadors and High Commissioners nominees is set to end on Friday, October 27.

Four nominees will appear before the Members of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations.

They are Wilson Kogo (Canberra, Australia), John Ronald Ekitela (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Philip Mundia Githiora (Maputo, Mozambique) and Sabdio Dido Bashuna (Gaborone, Botswana)

Those who appeared on Thursday were Jane Wairimu Ndurumo (Pretoria, South Africa), Ambassador Isaac Keen Parashina (Abuja, Nigeria),  Janet Mwawasi (Kigali, Rwanda) and Peter Munyiri (New Delhi, India).

During the approval hearings, Members led by Chairperson Hon. Nelson Koech (Belgut) interrogated the nominees on their academic qualifications and professional competence for the job.

The Committee also ascertained their clearance by relevant institutions; including the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Kenya Revenue Authority, the Higher Education Loans Board and the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties.

The MPs sought to know from the nominees if they had held any public offices and wealth declaration including deferred income and outside commitments and tax status.

They also sought to know any potential conflicts of interest among the members.

During the vetting,  Ndurumo pledged to strengthen trade ties between Kenya and South Africa when picked to serve as Kenya's ambassador to Pretoria.

Parashina, who is presently the Deputy Head of the Kenyan Mission to Tell Aviv, Israel, said he would entrench trade, security and diplomatic ties between Kenya and Nigeria if approved to serve as Kenya's Ambassador in Abuja.

He also said he would entrench deeper collaborations between the creative industries of both nations to allow Kenyan youths in the creative industry to tap into Nigeria's well-established Nollywood film industry.

Mwawasi told the Committee that if approved for an appointment she would use the position as Kenya's Ambassador to Rwanda, to foster efforts for the integration of the larger East-African Community.

Munyiri, said, that he would if approved, work closely with the Ministry of Trade to close the gap in the balance of trade between Kenya and India, if approved for appointment as Kenya's High Commissioner in New Delhi.

Koech told the nominees that the Committee would retreat to critically interrogate the nominees' responses against their credentials before drafting the approval report to be tabled in the House.