Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Cabinet Secretary nominee Wycliffe Oparanya before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments on August 4, 2024.
The threat by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to decline President William Ruto’s entire offer for Cabinet Secretary slots led to the approval of immediate former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya by the National Assembly Committee on Appointments, the Daily Nation can reveal.
The approval was the culmination of a four-hour closed-door horse-trading by the team chaired by House Speaker Moses Wetang’ula. Mr Oparanya is tipped to be the Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives.
Initially, it was agreed that the committee would take less than 30 minutes to approve the generic report that had been prepared by the parliamentary staff recommending the approval of all the nominees for appointment.
The committee retreated to a closed-door meeting where the entire secretariat was ejected from County Hall chambers, leaving the members to haggle over who to be thrown out.
While the ODM side of the committee reportedly had no issues with the nominees, it wasn’t aware of the card the Kenya Kwanza side was planning.
The government side was of the view that Ms Stella Lang’at did not perform well during the oral interview and therefore did not merit to be approved for appointment as Gender, Culture, the Arts and Heritage CS.
While giving the notice of motion on the report to the House moments after tabling it, Leader of Majority Kimani Ichung’wah said: “Taking into consideration the findings of the Committee on Appointments in its second report laid on the table, the House approves the nominees and rejects the appointment of Ms Stella Lang’at.”
The Kenya Kwanza side went further to suggest that Mr Oparanya’s nomination be rejected on account of his problems with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
EACC wrote to the National Assembly clerk opposing Mr Oparanya’s nomination, saying he has a pending corruption investigation, a matter he has challenged.
“It was at this time that Junet Mohammed sprang up and said either the committee includes Mr Oparanya among the nominees recommended for approval or ODM turns down the CS slots it was allocated,” said a member of the team who did not want to be quoted.
Mr Mohammed did not respond to inquiries on the incident.
The approval by the Mr Wetang’ula-led committee now paves the way for the swearing-in of the nominees today.
The performance of Ms Lang’at, a career administrator, during the oral vetting, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“The nominee failed to demonstrate adequate knowledge of topical, administrative and technical issues touching on the Ministry of Gender, Culture, the Arts and Heritage,” the committee’s report, which was adopted by the MPs, reads.
