The National Assembly on Thursday, April 17, 2025, approved President William Ruto’s nominee for the role of Kenyan Permanent Representative to the UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Susan Nakhumicha.
Speaking in the National Assembly, the Vice Chairperson of the Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee, Abdulahi Bashir, indicated that the committee was satisfied with her qualifications for the job.
“This house approves the appointments of the following person as permanent representative: Susan Nakhumicha Wafula as the permanent representative to the permanent mission of Kenya to UN-Habitat in Nairobi,” Bashir stated.
The defence committee equally approved the nomination of Peter Tum as the ambassador to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), James Buyakane Mutahi as the consul-general to Guangzhou, and Abdi Fidhow as the consul-general of Arusha in Tanzania.
Public service comeback
The approval paves the way for Nakhumicha to make a comeback to the national scene following her dismissal at the height of the Gen Z protests of 2024.
Nakhumicha had served as the Cabinet Secretary for Health from October 2022 until her sacking in July 2024, from which she retreated to her village home to pursue farming.
During her approval at the National Assembly, Bashir indicated that only one memorandum seeking to invalidate Nakhumicha’s nomination was received. The committee revealed that the memorandum argued that, having been dismissed from the cabinet, Nakhumicha was unqualified to occupy the seat.
“The committee, in its considered judgement, observed that the dismissal of Susan Nakhumicha was effected under article 152 (5) (b), which grants the president the discretion to dismiss a cabinet secretary without prescribing grounds for the dismissal,” Bashir stated.
MPs caution Nakhumicha
“Crucially, the dismissal did not fall under Article 7 (5), which governs ethical misconduct and carries the consequence of disqualification from future state office. As such, her public service journey remains lawfully unbroken and the committee found no legal or moral impediment to her continued service to the republic.”
Former Sports Principal Secretary Peter Tum was also cleared to serve as the Kenyan envoy to Kinshasa, DRC, while the former East African Community (EAC) Principal Secretary Abdi Fidhow will be the envoy for Arusha.
Speaking after the approval of Nakhumicha, Eldas MP Adan Keynan cautioned the former CS on the technicalities that her new role demanded.
“This is not the Ministry of Health; you will interact with many technical people representing the face of the universe. Those failed appointments of the Ministry of Health should not be carried over to UN-Habitat,” Keynan said.