Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu has nominated six new CECs following resignation and impeachment of some by the county assembly.
Last Friday, the assembly appointment committee chaired Speaker George Ndotto vetted the six, and a new county attorney who will also sit in the Cabinet.
New nominees Winnie Kitetu, a psychologist, and Stephen Maithya, a lands and legal specialist, vied for elective positions during the 2013 and 2017 general elections.
Kitetu in 2013 vied for Kitui women representative seat on Narc ticket but lost to veteran politician Nyiva Mwendwa of Wiper. Maithya in 2013 ran for Mwingi Central parliamentary seat and lost and in 2017 went for an MCA seat in Mwingi but lost to incumbent Mary Kanini.
The two will join other political CECs such as Koki Musau, who holds the Tourism docket and was appointed by Ngilu after losing his 2017 bid for Mwingi West parliamentary seat to Charles Nguna.
The two will come handy in giving Ngilu strategic political advice as she seeks to reclaim the governorship in 2022.
Currently, Ngilu remains with four CEMs out of the nine she appointed in 2017.
Among the six CECs nominees vetted by the assembly last Friday, four are women, including Kitetu, who was nominated for health docket.
Image: Musembi Nzengu
The other women were Esther Kilonzo, nominated to the Agriculture and Water docket, Hellen Kitheka (Tourism and Sports) and Caroline Musango, who was vetted for the position of the County Attorney.
The only two women CEC members Mary Nguli (Treasury) and Rosaita Ngina, previously serving under Ngilu, resigned to pursues other interests.
At present, Ngilu’s CECs still in office are Ben Katungi (Treasury), Musau (Tourism and sports), Emmanuel Kisangau of Agriculture as well as Jacob Kakundi of Lands and Infrastructure. Kakundi was recently impeached by the Kitui assembly but challenged the decision in court.
The fate of some of the CECs still serving in Ngilu’s administration remains unknown should the new nominees sail through the vetting for the same positions the old CECs are still holding.
The number of Ngilu’s CEC shrunk further when the holder of the Trade and Cooperative Philip Mumo lost the job after he was impeached by the Kitui Assembly for having a fake degree certificate. He was later arraigned in court for the same offence.
Education executive David Kivoto quit his job in late October. He told the media that he had endured untold frustrations and he had no options but to quit Ngilu’s administration despite having been pivotal in Ngilu’s 2017 gubernatorial campaigns.