Members of the National Assembly have rejected nominees to the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) board, citing incompetence and lack of consultation by the executive.
Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and his Minority counterpart Junet Mohammed led the House in rejecting the nominations of Komora Yvonne Nsunsu, Manyaga Yvonne Boyani, Mutua Fidelis Kieti and Morris Putita Kaaka.
“This is a board that is going to handle and manage Sh65 billion on behalf of Kenyans. We must have the most competent people on the board,” said Mr Mohammed.
He said the National Assembly cannot be turned into a conveyor belt by the executive, insisting that they have a mandate to scrutinise names before they can be appointed.
“We have to scrutinise whatever we are passing in this House. This thing requires more scrutiny and more consultation; it requires us to consider people of integrity,” he said.
Mr Ichung’wah claimed that one of the nominees had worked with a county government as a chief officer. He made the remarks in reference to the standoff between governors and MPs over NG-CDF. Governors had sought to have the fund scrapped for being unconstitutional.
“You know what happened between county governments and MPs over NG-CDF. We have to be certain that people in this board are beyond reproach,” said Mr Ichung’wah.
The law provides that where the National Assembly rejects any nomination, the Speaker shall within three days communicate its decision to the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary and request the office to submit fresh nominations.
In such a circumstance, the CS shall within seven days submit to the National Assembly a fresh nomination from amongst the persons shortlisted and forwarded by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The recruitment of the board members has been characterized by claims of external forces after a correspondence between State House and Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi over the exercise leaked.
Following a competitive recruitment by the PSC, CS Mbadi, in a letter, nominated Ms Nsunsu, Ms Boyani, Mr Kieti and Ahmed Diriye Mohammed for vetting and subsequent appointment.
In his letter to the Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, Mr Mbadi listed Mr Kieti to represent People with Disability (PWD), while the other three nominees were considered for other factors, including regional balance.
“The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to seek for your concurrence,” said Mr Mbadi in the letter.
But in a response by Deputy Chief of Staff Josphat Nanok on behalf of Mr Koskei, State House replaced Mr Mohammed with Mr Kaaka. The other three names were, however, retained.
Mr Kaaka served as Chief Officer in the Department of Finance and Economic Planning in Kajiado County between 2014 and 2019.
The law provides that “the Cabinet Secretary shall within 14 days of the receipt of the names of the persons recommended for nomination under sub-section 1(e), nominate one person for each vacancy and forward the names to the National Assembly for approval.”
PSC kicked off the recruitment in July 2025 by declaring four vacancies in the board for a three-year contract, renewable once. The board is made up of eight members and the Chief Executive Office.
Former Kisumu West MP Olago Aluoch serves as the board chair, with Gabriel Kago as a member, and Mr John Olela and Festus Wangwe as alternative director to Principal Secretaries for National Treasury and Economic Planning, respectively.
