LINTURI, ABABU NAMWAMBA FAILS VETTING

Mr Franklin Mithika Linturi’s life for the past decade has been full of controversies, which will be at the centre of his vetting today when he appears before Parliament’s Committee on Appointments.

The Agriculture Cabinet nominee has been in courts since 2012 on different charges, ranging from abdicating his parental responsibilities to attempted rape.

In August 2012, a woman sued Mr Linturi for abandoning her and their three-year-old son.

In November 2017, the University of Nairobi de-registered his 2014 law degree, after it was discovered that he presented fake papers when enrolling for the course.

However, the High Court overturned the university’s decision, terming it illegal.

In October 2018, Mr Linturi’s househelp died mysteriously. There were claims that she was hurriedly buried without a post-mortem examination being performed.

At one point, Mr Linturi was accused of forging signatures to secure a loan from Family Bank.

If he is cleared, he will be leading a docket that is at the centre of President William Ruto’s plan to turn around the economy through increased production.

With the return of subsidised fertiliser, which had been infiltrated by cartels in previous regimes, Mr Linturi will be questioned on how he intends to dismantle the groups that benefit at the expense of farmers.

Following the admission of President Ruto that the Ukraine-Russia war has had a burnt effect on the cost of farm inputs, Mr Linturi will be required to explain how to steady the supply of fertiliser and other farm inputs.

The nominee for East African Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development docket, Ms Rebecca Miano, is among the few technocrats who will be in President William Ruto’s Cabinet if she is approved. Ms Miano, a lawyer, has experience of almost two decades in the corporate world.

Her vetting today by the Committee on Appointments comes at a time when the national government is embroiled in fights with counties over the control of regional development authorities (RDAs) since the inception of devolution.

Ms Miano will have to explain how she intends to solve the incessant push-and-pull.

She is likely to be asked to explain what she will do differently to instil public confidence in these institutions.

With Ms Miano having served as the managing director of Kengen and other parastatals, she is likely to be put to task to enumerate some of the achievements in the dockets she has held and, most probably, why the cost of power is still high.

Farmers have complained over the years due to the flooding of local markets with products from Tanzania and Uganda, Ms Miano will have to assure the country that she will take steps to solve this delicate situation without Kenya being accused of promoting the trade deficit with her peers.

Kenya is said not to have fully exploited the East African Community (EAC) market, another challenge for Ms Miano if she is approved to run the ministry.

She will be required to tell the country what she will do that was not done by the previous administrations to make the country access these markets.

pilfered.

If his nomination is approved, the former Budalang’i MP will be taking over the sports docket at a time when the country is faced with a lot of challenges, including the suspension of Kenya by Fifa, a move that has seen Harambee Stars miss out on the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 qualifiers.

Mr Namwamba will also likely be questioned on athletics, particularly on increased cases of doping, with 30 Kenyan athletes having been flagged for such offences.

He will also likely be asked to detail what he plans to do to ensure stalled stadia projects across the country are completed.

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