Sifuna: Aisha Jumwa, Moses Kuria lack moral probity to be CSs

Jumwa was picked to take charge of the Public Service Gender and Affirmative Action while Moses Kuria was allocated the Trade, Investment and Industry.

Speaking on Citizen TV's Daybreak show on Thursday, Sifuna claimed that the two lack the "moral probity" to sit in the cabinet offices noting that the two have have questionable matters in the public domain, casting doubt on their integrity.

Sifuna intimated that if they, as the opposition, would be in control of the Parliamentary vetting committees he would automatically dismiss the two saying that they cannot be Cabinet Secretaries in the Kenyan republic. 

"You have seen the names the President has put forward for his cabinet. He knows that if we have control of those committees there are names that I have already proclaimed cannot be Cabinet Secretaries in this republic like Aisha Jumwa and Moses Kuria. They don't have the moral probity to be Cabinet Secretaries," he said.

Defending his claims, Sifuna said that he has previously worked with with Aisha Jumwa when she was an ODM affiliate and she has since proven to be an incompetent leader.

"Aisha Jumwa is incompetent, she cannot do anything. I was her SG for four years. I have the files for all these people. I have her file, I know her education levels, we have seen her capacity as our representative in the Parliamentary Service Commission," he said.

"We have seen her ability to even articulate her issues even as the MP for Malindi. She simply is not the material we expects from a CS."

The legislator went on to pour cold water on the two, saying that they do not meet all the requirements of holding public office as enshrined in chapter 6 of the constitution on leadership and integrity.

"Article 73 of the Constitution is the one that lays out the criteria for the selection and election of people into public office and there are three criteria, Personal Integrity, Competence and Suitability," he said.

"You can be competent and not suitable. I have no doubt that Moses Kuria is a competent guy because I know he has gone to school, he is able to do things, he's been an MP. But the question of his suitability is question we will bring before the vetting committee because of his previous conducts and pronouncements against large sections of this republic."

In a quick rejoinder, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei claimed that Sifuna is casting aspersions against the two and has personal differences CS nominees.

He defended the duo, noting that a lot of deliberations were done before they were selected and had to be cleared by security agencies and the national tax collector to prove their credibility. 

"To us as Kenya Kwanza, Aisha Jumwa is competent enough and if Sifuna has a problem be should bring it before the appointment committee to object so that when the vetting process of Aisha Jumwa is done he can raise his issues," said Cherargei. 

"There is alot of things that are done behind the scenes before those nominees are announced. There are agencies that clear them like like DCI, KRA and EACC. And even us when we were running those were documents that we had to present."

Cherargei expressed confidence that the two will be the best performing CSs in President William Ruto's government.

"And my prediction is that the best performing dockets will be of Aisha Jumwa and Moses Kuria."