The Speaker called upon the media to exercise fairness to the nominees and the vetting Committee on Appointments.
On Friday, August 2, National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula came to the defence of the net worth of Cabinet nominees appearing before the Parliament vetting committee.
Wetangula, while the vetting was ongoing, called out the media for mainly reporting on the declaration of the wealth of the nominees, which was a question notably at the very end of every interview compared to the beginning two years ago.
The Speaker called upon the media to exercise fairness to the nominees and the vetting Committee on Appointments.
“We asked the candidates many incisive questions and the question of their worth was at the tail end of every interview. And the candidates gave clear explanations. But what we see in the headlines is totally different,” Wetang’ula remarked.
Vetting exercise in Parliament of Cabinet Secretary nominees on August 1, 2024. /PARLIAMENT KENYA
“We want the media to be fair to both the candidates and the Committee because we are not here to evaluate the wealth of the candidate but to evaluate their suitability to hold public office to which they are nominated.”
His deputy, Gladys Shollei, weighed in by noting that “It’s important for the members of the media to understand that the fact that you own properties or your net worth is high is not a disqualification. And the fact that you declare your wealth is not for use now but for use in future if there is alleged corruption against you.”
National Assembly Minority Whip Junet Mohamed, who is a member of the vetting committee, however, argued that the concern was the source of wealth and the period of accumulation, given that the nominees by way of holding public offices, are expected to be thrust into the public eye.
“There is no harm in somebody being rich and it is not a crime in somebody being poor. But I think what people expect is a proper explanation of the source of wealth.
“Let’s say you’ve worked for 30 years and you made a wealth of Ksh400 million and you’ve worked for two years, you’ve made a wealth of Ksh150 million. So that is the comparison they are looking at. Richness is not a crime and poverty is dangerous,” Junet stated.
Wealth declaration is anchored by the Public Officer Ethics Act of 2003, which states that every public officer must make financial declarations of incomes, assets and liabilities.
On day two, CS nominees Andrew Mwihia (Agriculture) and Aden Duale (Environment) were on the hot seat and declared their net worth before the vetting committee.
Mwihia revealed that his net worth stands at Ksh214 million, made up of his family residences, apartments, vehicles, land and deposits in bank accounts.
Agriculture CS nominee Andrew Mwihia during vetting in Parliament on August 2, 2024. /PARLIAMENT KENYA
Duale’s net worth rose by Ksh129 million to stand at Ksh980 million now. During his vetting in October 2022, he said he was then worth Ksh851 million consisting of assets such as goats, sheep and camels.
He noted that he owned at the time 231 of the latter, which he had to value in Kitui County.