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Early this month, the ministry announced that it will henceforth allow foreign missions to directly engage different ministries.
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According to their communication, the missions will also engage state departments and agencies directly and not through the ministry.
Image: TWITTER
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua is a man under siege.
MPs have threatened to censure him for snubbing meetings to discuss irregular transfer of the ministry’s mandate to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s office.
The lawmakers sitting in the Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly were on Tuesday furious after the CS – for a record fourth time- failed to appear before them.
Initially, Mutua sought the committee’s intervention to delay the meeting for an hour as he was attending the swearing-in of Chief Administrative Secretaries.
According to the committee vice chairman Bashir Sheikh, the CS again sought a further 30 minutes to enable him handle a top diplomat who was in the country.
“There is a time we gave him a chance and he requested that he appears today (Wednesday), today we were first told that he is attending the swearing-in ceremony for CASs and being a national duty members agreed to push the meeting by an hour to give him time,” Bashir informed the committee.
Central Imenti MP Moses Kirima demanded that Parliament initiate impeachment motion against Mutua whom he claimed is not showing seriousness in his work as the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
“This is high time we should start impeachment process to get out this minister out of office,” Kirima said.
“It is completely unacceptable. This shows the ministry is run by a very confused and disorganised person,” Kamkunji MP Yusuf Hassan added.
Mutua was to appraise the committee on the communication from the ministry to all diplomatic and consular missions, United Agencies and International Organisation to communicate directly with ministries, departments and agencies without going through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as has been the norm.
The lawmakers also wanted the CS to shed light on widespread reports that the ministry had ceded part of its constitutional mandate to the Office of the Deputy President.
Early this month, the ministry announced that it will henceforth allow foreign missions to directly engage different ministries.
According to their communication, the missions will also engage state departments and agencies directly and not through the ministry headed by Mutua.
The letter also said Gachagua will approve any engagements by foreign missions that will require two or more ministries to engage.
“Requests of meetings of cross-cutting nature and that involve more than one ministry, it is advised that such requests should be made through the Office of the Deputy President for coordination purposes,” the communication reads.
MPs questioned why the Foreign Affairs docket should continue receiving its full budget when part of its mandate are now being handled by other state departments.
Baringo Central MP Joshua Kandie wondered why Parliament should continue allocating funds to the Foreign Affairs when it has ceded its mandate to another department.
“How can Foreign Affairs ministry justify the budget when they delegated its functions to other ministries, we should retreat and make a determination,” Kandie said.
“He (Mutua) does not even deserve the budget because he has already given out his mandate, ”Kitui MP Irine Kasalu added.
The committee has now issued summons to the CS to appear before them on April 11 after the short recess.
“If he does not appear on April 11 then we shall retreat and come back with a report on the CS and share with the House and Kenyans,” Bashir said.