Seven former cabinet secretaries yet to start envoy jobs

Former Sports CS Hassan Wario. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Seven former cabinet secretaries appointed as envoys are yet to report to their new stations, almost six months after they were nominated by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The group has not left Nairobi following what is said to be delays from State House to give them credentials required for their departure.

The envoys are former Agriculture CS Willy Bett (India), former Mining CS Dan Kazungu (Tanzania), former Sports CS Hassan Wario (Austria) and former Health CS Cleopa Mailu (UN, Geneva).

Other appointees

Others are former Labour CS Phyllis Kandie (Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union), former Environment CS Judi Wakhungu (France), former Lands CS Jacob Kaimenyi (Unesco) and former State House Comptroller Lawrence Lenayapa (Netherlands).

The group was vetted and approved by Parliament in February. They then underwent a compulsory one month training at the Foreign Service Academy that ended in early April.

Although the former ministers retained the salaries they earned while serving in cabinet, the delay to be cleared to travel has caused a lot of confusion.

They have been camping at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices seeking to know their fate, but have been told to be patient.

They were informed that the delay had been caused by ‘Agreemo’, which is yet to come from the countries they are to report to.

In diplomatic circles, an Agreemo is a memorandum from one nation to another, agreeing to the appointment of an ambassador or envoy.

The note comes once a host nation has conducted due diligence and background checks of the person before accepting her or him.

 

“The envoys have been camping at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking to know their fate, but they have been told to wait. Equally, State House is yet to give them credentials to carry,” a source at the ministry said.

Awaiting credentials

Given that as ambassadors, envoys are representatives of the heads of state, the President has to give them credentials, which they will carry to their new stations.

Reports from the ministry, however, indicated that one country had raised an objection about one of the appointees, prompting Kenya to opt for a swap.

In diplomacy, a country rejecting the appointment of an envoy is not obligated to state the reasons.

Consequently, Ms Kandie will head to France to take the initial position of Prof Kaimenyi at UNESCO, while the latter will now report in Brussels as the country’s envoy to EU, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Yesterday State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu said he would not comment on the matter and referred us to CS Monica Juma.

Foreign Affairs PS Macharia Kamau, however, downplayed the fears of delay, saying the new ambassadors were aware of their July 1 reporting date.

Kamau said the Agreemos had been received on interim basis from the countries they are expected to report to.

Asked why Ms Kandie and Prof Kaimenyi were swapping places, the PS replied: “Prerogative of the appointing authority (President).”

Soft landing

In late January, Uhuru gave the former CSs a soft landing after dropping them from cabinet.

Former presidential advisor on legal affairs Abdikadir Mohamed, who had been nominated as Kenya’s envoy to South Korea, declined the offer, citing personal reasons.

Others named as envoys then were former MP Kiema Kilonzo (Uganda) and Lazarus Amayo (UN Mission in New York). The two did not require vetting, as they were already serving ambassadors.