The past few days have served to demonstrate why there could be serious mischief about the shortlisted candidates for Principal Secretaries to serve in the Kenya Kwanza administration once cleared by the National Assembly. Questions have emerged over the additional 108 names that were published shortly after the initial list of 477 shortlisted applicants.
One would imagine that a list of 477 candidates should form a sufficient pool of candidates to choose from considering that we are only looking for about 50 principal secretaries. But then, how would adding 108 more candidates to that list improve the quality of the pool of candidates to choose from?
There is already word on the streets that interested individuals were being made to pay anything between Ksh. 500,000 to Ksh. 1,000,000 to make it on the list. These allegations may or may not be true, but the additional list reeks of mischief. There is already a concern among the wider population that these positions this time, will largely be reserved for Kenya Kwanza’s loyalists over a genuine case of seeking to have proper and competent technocrats to serve in those positions.These fears are however not far-fetched considering the recent utterances made by key figureheads from the ruling coalition.
In one of his tweets, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei tweeted, “On the shortlisted PSs [I] have seen some Azimio-OKA apologists who didn’t believe in H.E Ruto Presidency & insulted him, let them remain in opposition not to sabotage our God-given govt & No recycling. Loyalty to H.E Ruto MUST be absolute to serve govt & Kenyans.” Similar sentiments have come from the Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua when he said, “Some want to reap where they did not sow, those who sowed should harvest first. When we are done with all those who sowed, those who did not sow will have whatever remains,” he said.
Mr Gachagua spoke while attending a thanksgiving service in Uasin Gishu County on Sunday 09th October 2022. These utterances are quite ironic considering how the Kenya Kwanza coalition bemoaned how some state officers (including Principal Secretaries) campaigned for Azimio during the last campaigns leading t the August 9t elections.
For now, Kenyans will be keen to see how this recruitment process will pan out, amid the skepticism surrounding the entire process. It remains to be seen how these “party loyalists” will steer clear of politics when they take over the office.
By Alvine Opicho
