MPs are plotting to censure Interior PS Monica Juma and expel her because they say she disrespected them, reports The Star.
Just a day after they overwhelmingly rejected her elevation to Secretary to the Cabinet, MPs want her removed from the Interior post she has held for 10 months. She served as Defence PS since June 2013. “The die is cast. The PS must resign or we force her out,” a Jubilee MP told the Star yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity, as did other MPs.
She has two weeks to go, they said. The highly credentialed Juma has a reputation as a principled, no-nonsense administrator who has not entertained frequent visits from MPs and senators seeking favors, including transfers and retention of certain people.
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MPs want President Uhuru Kenyatta to urgently nominate Gordon Kihalangwa as Interior PS. President Uhuru rebuked the National Assembly for rejecting his nominee, saying MPs had spurned a highly qualified and competent public servant.
“Given her meritorious service, the President is deeply disappointed the National Assembly has chosen to reject a public officer whom it acknowledged as being highly qualified and competent, and who represents Kenyan professionalism and dedication to service at their best,” the statement said.
The MPs had denied the nation the services of an officer central to the Jubilee administration’s transformation agenda, he said. Deputy President William Ruto yesterday told MPs to vet nominees based on their track record and to rise above petty and political reasons.
Also piling on criticism was Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka who said the vetting committee’s adverse report “was disturbing and blatantly driven by malice and selfish interests”.
MPs on Thursday adopted the report of the Committee on Administration and National Security that accused Juma of “arrogance and insensitivity” and said she could not spell out her achievements at Defence and Interior.
He said MPs consider Juma too “stiff” to listen to ordinary people who have crucial information about security. The Independent Police Oversight Authority applauded the rejection of Juma, terming her “difficult”.
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