MPs approve appointment of Ababu Namwamba, Andrew Karanja, Noor Gabow

The National Assembly has approved the appointments of former Cabinet Secretaries Ababu Namwamba (Sports) and Andrew Karanja (Agriculture), as well as ex-Deputy Inspector General Noor Gabow to various diplomatic postings as nominated by President William Ruto.

Namwamba had been nominated as the Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Dr. Karanja as Kenya’s envoy to Brazil, while Gabow was nominated as Consul-General in Haiti.

The Departmental Committee on Defence Intelligence and Foreign Relations on Thursday gave the green light to the trio to assume their roles.

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 132(2)(e) of the Constitution, section 20(2) of the Foreign Services Act, CAP 185E and sections 3 and 8 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, CAP 7F, this House approves the appointment of Dr. Andrew Karanja Ambassador, Brasilia, Brazil; Hon. Ababu Namwamba, EGH Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/ United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON); and Mr. Noor Yarow Gabow, CBS Consul-General, Port-au-Prince, Haiti,” read the statement.

At the same time, the Committee castigated the appointing authority following the withdrawal of former ICT Cabinet Secretary (CS) Margaret Nyambura Ndung’u who had been nominated as Kenya's High Commissioner to Ghana.

During the vetting of the nominees last week, Nyambura failed to appear before the committee and rejected President Ruto’s nomination citing personal and compelling family matters.

The letter was read out by the Committee’s chair, Nelson Koech, who noted that the Accra posting seems to be jinxed since Ndung’u is the second nominee to turn down the position after former West Mugirango MP Victor Mogaka Kemosi in April 2024.

The MP later called out Head of Public Service Felix Koskei and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for allegedly failing to properly vet nominees before presenting them for diplomatic roles.

According to Koech, Koskei, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should conduct thorough checks before presenting the nominees' names to Parliament, as their rejection reflects poorly on President Ruto and Kenya.

“It is imperative for this committee that we put notice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head of Public Service that they should do their due diligence in future when doing this appointment,” Koech said.  

“The picking of names of individuals who probably may not have been consulted or have no interest to represent our country is not only an embarrassment to the country but an embarrassment to the President.”