Chief Justice David Maraga on Wednesday presided over the swearing-in of the chairperson and seven members of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission at the Supreme court.
The team led by Samuel Kobia as the chairperson will serve at the commission for a term of six years.
Other members are Fatuma Tabwara, Dorcas Kadogo, Samuel Ekona, Philip Okundi and Danvas Makori.
During the meeting held at the commissions office after the swearing-in ceremony, the members elected Fatuma Tabwara as vice chairperson.
The incoming team is the third set of commissioners, taking over from the team that was previously led by former chairman Francis Ole Kaparo, which exited office in August 2018.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on October 22 nominated Reverend Samuel Kobia as National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) Chairperson.
Uhuru further nominated Samuel Kona, former Rangwe MP Phillip Okundi, Peris Nyutu, former Madera East MP Abdulaziz Ali Farah, former Nairobi Finance CEC Danvas Makori, Fatuma Tabwara, former Vihiga Woman Rep Dorcas Kedogo as members.
Their names will now be forwarded to the National Assembly for vetting.
If they are cleared, the team will pick over from former Speaker Kaparo who had been at the helm of the commission since 2014.
Kaparo's term ended last year, but President Uhuru Kenyatta in a Gazette notice extended their term by one year.
Born in March 1947, Kobia is a Methodist clergyman and the first African to be elected as the secretary-general of the World Council of Churches serving between 2004 and 2009.
Kobia also served as a commissioner of the Judicial Service Commission between 2013 and 2015 before his abrupt resignation.
In January, the High Court declared the recruitment of commissioners to the National Cohesion and Integration Commission by Parliament as unconstitutional.
The court ruled that any appointment resulting from the nominations by Parliament was null and void.
