Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja wants appointment of former Othaya MP Mary Wambui to the National Employment Authority (NEA) quashed.
The Senator says the the appointment goes against the provisions of Section 10(2) of the NEA act.
‘I have asked her to politely decline this appointment’, Sakaja said in a statement.
The appointment of Mary Wambui and many other old people brought to sharp focus the issue of youth unemployment since last week.
President Kenyatta has over the few years been consistent in appointing old guards to government.
The return of the old guard in Uhuru’s administration is hardly surprising as the trend has been there for all to see.
Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua is 68, well over the mandatory retirement age of 60.
Late last year, former Vice President Moody Awori, 91, was appointed to chair the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund.
President Uhuru also picked Stephen Karogo to chair the Public Service Commission, even though at the point of his nomination, he was slightly over 60 years.
MPs vetting him for the position questioned his ability to adequately serve given that he had hit the mandatory retirement age of 60 years.
“Do not focus on my age, rather at the wealth of experience I bring on the table in this new role,” he told the National Assembly Committee on Administration and National Security.
Retired General of the Kenya Defence Forces Julius Karangi chairs the NSSF board after his retirement from the military, while 72-year-old Francis Muthaura is in charge at Kenya Revenue Authority board.
Just last week, the National Assembly approved Esther Murugi to sit in the National Lands Commission, even though she is 66.
Senator Sakaja believes that Mary Wambui is no fit for the position and can serve Kenyans ‘in a different capacity’.
‘Hon. Mary Wambui Munene is known to me, as we served together in the 11th Parliament as well as having been a member of The National Alliance party which I chaired. I have confidence that she has the ability to serve Kenyans in a different capacity but not as the vision carrier and Chairperson of the National Employment Authority. I therefore urge her to politely decline this particular appointment’, he wrote.
The Senator went a step further to file a petition to have the appointment revoked.
‘I have further instructed my lawyers as well as those of the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association to file a petition this morning seeking to quash this appointment. The respondents of this suit are The Cabinet Secretary of Labour, The Hon. Attorney General and Hon. Mary Wambui Munene’, the statement concluded.
— Sakaja Arthur Johnson (@SakajaJohnson) October 17, 2019
