Ramadhan Mubarak to all Muslims! The President did well by lifting the curfew in North Eastern counties. But his call for extra vigilance this holy month cannot be overemphasised since terrorists’ theologians believe it’s the month to inflict damage most.
But the President did not do well in telling off MPs for rejecting the Interior ministry PS Monica Juma’s nomination. And hats off to the Jubilee MPs for rebuffing him on this one, despite the abrasive words from his advisors up the hill.
My barbs go to the CORD brigade who threw their weight behind Monica, not because of her ability and performance, but purely on grounds of ethnicity. She comes from Kalonzo’s backyard in Ukambani and that earned her their unequivocal support.
And they didn’t seem to have any qualms expressing their ethnic chauvinism ad nauseam! Yet, they endlessly condemn the Jubilee presidency of entrenching tribalism in appointments from their backyards.
As expected, CORD gave it a spin; that the Jubilee MPs rejected her because she declined to share the infamous Harambee House loot. Kalonzo had the temerity to even express the same in rallies, perhaps recalling his days in government when they queued at the OP for handouts.
Times have changed. There are many MPs, Jubilee and CORD, who frequent OP but not for handouts. I sat in the House gallery and relished how the MPs rejected Monica unceremoniously. And for the first time, I stood up in ovation for the MPs of the lower House.
As a senator from a county plagued by insecurity, I could not have agreed more with their rejection of her move to another, perhaps more senior, public office. If performance was a criteria used by the President to nominate, he missed the shore by an ocean!
In the one year she held the CEO and Accounting Officer position in OP, insecurity spiraled out of control, and hundreds were killed. The massacres in Mandera, Garissa, Turkana, Pokot, and Samburu but to name a few, happened under her watch. The PS Interior controls the administrative and financial matters, and that’s what ails OP today.
Despite the huge budget to that office, the stipends for her officers in the field were not forthcoming, and we read about the plight of these officers often in the media.
The quarterly cash transfers to the administration and police commandants in the counties too were often delayed, paralysing operations. Key positions in OP remained unfilled, with performance impact on field operations. The former IG often lamented about funding crisis in police operations, and benefits including housing, ostensibly because of her shortcomings, a factor that is likely to impact adversely on current IG too.
Not even the CSs are respected in their decisions although they would not say so on record. An example is a recent order by the President to take certain measures in North Eastern to address the terrorists threats; most of these are now gathering dust on the shelves in her office. These include providing financial and personnel logistics that are critical for success in the conflict. Her failures in the docket are so obvious.
Chapter 6 provisions apply to her in the same way they applied to Nancy Baraza. It’s not about papers, or gender too. Perhaps CIC needs to read the full report by the House committee. You may dislike the House for many of their unsavoury behaviour but on this one, they made my day!
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