Details have emerged that Sports and Culture cabinet secretary nominee Rashid Mohammed Achesa is a class seven drop-out, and there are plans to exclude him from the team that was interviewed in parliament last week.
The National Assembly majority leader Aden Duale, according to , has convened an urgent meeting with all Jubilee lawmakers together with President Uhuru Kenyatta to rally the expunging of Achesa's name from the nine CS nominees, who have already been approved.
According toCitizen Radioin a 4pm bulletin on Monday February 12, the nominee failed to explain his education level, but his CV showed that he left school while in class seven.
The new twist emerges even as the Parliamentary Appointments Committee retreated to Enashipai Resort in Naivasha, Nakuru County to draft a report on the suitability of the nine cabinet nominees vetted on Thursday February 8 and Friday February 9.
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Crisis meeting
Mr Duale, the station reported, is set to hold a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, which will culminate in rallying several of the Jubilee lawmakers to reject the name of the former parliamentary seat aspirant. Mr Achesa had earlier requested the committee to interview him in the absence of the press.
Mr Achesa made his appearance on Friday last week in a panel led by Speaker Justin Muturi, who chaired the panel of over 12 members.
Mr Achesa was the only nominee to whom questions were posed in Kiswahili by majority of MPs. Equally, unlike the long and impressive CVs presented by other nominees, notably Keriako Tobiko (Environment) and the Public Service, Youth and Gender’s Margaret Kobia, Achesa presented to the committee nothing more than a few pages that barely explained his education.
In his opening remarks, the nominee narrated the difficulties he faced in his childhood, and in the process missed the chance for good education.
“My father was a charcoal burner while my mother used to sell sweet bananas. I was born in a family of eight and life was very difficult for us,” he said when he was asked by Speaker Justin Muturi to make his introductory remarks.
Due process
The committee which is now retreating in Naivasha, is expected to eventually take into consideration the nominees’ academic qualifications, integrity, conduct and track record while determining their suitability for appointment to their respective dockets.
The committee’s appointment report will be tabled in the August House on Tuesday (tomorrow) February 13, when MPs resume from their Christmas recess.
If parliament endorses the committee’s report, the nominees will be appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and thereafter sworn into office. This is however set to create huge cracks ion the ruling Jubilee Party.
Listen to the narration by Radio Citizen here.