Foreign Affairs CS Juma shakes up ministry in major reshuffle

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma has shaken up her ministry in a major reshuffle that will see more than 100 officers out of Nairobi.

In a circular dated May 23, Dr Juma moved 117 officers drawn from senior to middle level cadres to foreign missions for a period of four years.

The officers have been instructed to report to their new stations by June 15 and are expected to undergo training at the Foreign Service Academy (FSA) before leaving.

“Those identified will serve strictly for a maximum of forty-eight (48) months. You are reminded that Foreign Service abroad is a temporary assignment with specific time bound responsibilities and duties,” the CS says in the memo.

She adds: “The tour can be varied depending on performance, exigencies of duty, and prevailing service regulations such as performance, operational needs in the mission or headquarters, retirement age while on posting or indiscipline.”

Among senior officers affected include Joshua Mugodo, director Economic and Trade who has been sent to Kenya’s embassy in Brussels as minister.

Juma’s move comes slightly over a year since she vetoed a similar posting by her predecessor Amina Mohamed. She was then Amina’s PS.

On January 20, 2017 Amina posted a record 118 staff to embassies abroad in what could have been her last major assignment as she headed to Addis Ababa to fight for the African Union job, which she lost to Chad’s Moussa Mahamat.

Juma, who is said to have described the move as irregular, sought the intervention of State House to stop the deployments.