Kuria needs help to understand there are limits to his power in public appointments

**Cabinet secretary for Public Service Moses Kuria during a visit at Bondeni Vocational Training Center in Nakuru.** [Kipsang Joseph,Standard]

“Asante Hon Moses Kuria for standing with a generation, please keep doing good and stretching your hand,” came the cryptic message from Dennis Itumbi. His official designation is an assistant minister, a position that was revoked by the courts, so Itumbi spends most of his time blogging for the government. Or responding to those seen as putting the government “down.”

The cryptic message thanking Kuria was prologued by a more explicit line: “Congratulations, Jacque Maribe. May God bless you as you serve.” Maribe is the former TV girl who was recently acquitted in the trial of Monica Kimani’s murder trial. Her ex, Jowie Irungu, was sentenced to hang.

Alright, there are still many loose threads, as we don’t know which hand Kuria was stretching, and in which direction, and which Itumbi interpreted as “standing with a generation,” to use his fractured English.

And although we don’t have an inkling of what Itumbi’s referenced as “service,” Kuria was widely quoted in the Press confirming that Jacque Maribe would be joining Public Service ministry as Head of Communications.

That’s to say, if there was anything that Kuria and his office had anything they wanted communicated to the public, that task would fall under the competent authority of Madam Maribe.

But as happens to most pronouncements that Kuria makes, he was made to eat his words before they dried on his lips.

The Public Service Commission said no such vacancy had been reported in the ministry, and if and when such an opportunity arose, it would be filled competitively. There is obviously a need for more effective public communications from Kuria’s ministry so that the minister understands the limits of his power, so Itumbi can blog more accurately.