Nairobi — Close to twenty-seven nominated persons for appointment as Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Permanent Representatives will know their fate next week.
The Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations is expected to table the report on their suitability for the job following the conclusion on vetting of ambassadorial nominees
Today the last nominees appeared before the Nelson Koech-led Committee to defend their suitability before the MPs.
Three nominees who appeared today were Mohamed Ramadhan Ruwange (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), Lt. Gen. Abert Kendagor (Tel Aviv, Israel) and Mohamed Nur Adan (Doha, Qatar).
Ruwange defended his qualifications having served as a Senior Contracts Engineer at Occidental Petroleum Company since June 2019.
He was previously a Legal Officer in the office of the Mombasa Senator between March 2016 and June 2017.
The nominee said he would push for standardization of visa fees charged on Kenyans arriving in Saudi Arabia if approved for appointment as Kenyan Ambassador in Riyadh.
"I pledge to work with the Saudi Authorities, as well as the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and that of Labour to sensitize Kenyans pursuing employment in Saudi Arabia on the cultural dynamics and legal requirements of their contracts to address recent complaints by Kenyan immigrant workers in the Middle East," he said.
Lt. Gen.Kendagor on the other hand, who served as a commandant at the National Defence College between 2022 and 2023, said he would use the diplomatic skills he had picked from peace efforts during his Military career to spearhead Kenya's interests in Israel which is currently embroiled in armed fighting within the Gaza strip.
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Adan who is the current Director for Administration in the Office of the Secretary Foreign Service said if approved for appointment as Kenya's Ambassador to Doha, he would initiate diplomatic efforts to improve Kenya's balance of trade with Qatar.
"I will work closely with Kenyan parent ministries and local industries to improve the quality of the final products targeted for export to Qatar to increase the Country's volume of trade," he stated.
Koech said the Committee was impressed with most nominees' demonstration of diplomatic experience, which he noted was a departure from tradition where a high number of those previously nominated for appointment as Ambassadors were not career diplomats.
The Belgut MP said the Committee would scrutinize all nominees' responses to questions put to them by MPs, as well as their professional competencies to serve the Republic at the destinations to which they have been posted.
"This has been a fruitful exercise, and we have taken note of the nominees' submissions, credentials, and understanding of the issues put to them by Members. We will be retreating this weekend to draft a suitability Report," Koech stated.
The Committee will have until Wednesday 8th November, 2023 to table the Report for Consideration by the House.
