Samuel Njoroge appointed new National Assembly Clerk

Samuel Njoroge is the new clerk of the National Assembly.

Njoroge was appointed the clerk by a deeply divided House, that forced Members to vote manually, with Njoroge garnering 162 votes against 94 who opposed his appointment.

He now takes over from Serah Kioko who has been acting as clerk since the tenure of Michael Sialai ended.

Sharp division among members of the National Assembly was witnessed during the debate, as some members openly booed Eldas MP Adan Keynan who is also a commissioner with the parliamentary Service Commission (PSC).

Keynan defended the decision by PSC chaired by Speaker Moses Wetangula that ranked Njoroge first, with acting clerk Serah Kioko being ranked fourth.

According to PSC, 48 Kenyans applied for the position, but only 4 were shortlisted.

According to the results of the interview, Samuel Njoroge emerged top with a score of 87.14% followed Mohammed Ali 76.79%, Eunice Wanjiku Gichangi 76.43% and Serah Kioko at 75.18%, making the PSC to declare Njoroge as a clerk for a period of 5 years.

“I really want to appeal to the members that the 4 individuals who were interviewed are all competent and highly qualified, but after the interviews, Samuel Njoroge emerged the best, and I really want to appeal to you to support him,” Keynan urged the members.

“The person who was acting reverts back to her previous position of being a deputy clerk, he/she has not been sacked, or suspended, they continue to be part of the parliamentary service commission,” he added.

The motion was seconded by Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkonga who until he resigned to vie in the just concluded general election was also a commissioner in the PSC. Chepkonga asked MPs to support the decision by PSC.

“We may disagree with whether I should have been red, green or yellow… that is preference, it has nothing with the law, we might not like the law, but we must follow the law, let us support the decision of the commission,” he said.