Miano, previously the Cabinet Secretary for Investments and Trade, was nominated as Kenya’s first female Attorney General in new Cabinet nominations announced by Ruto last week.Â
Attorney General nominee, Rebecca Miano on Tuesday, July 23 issued a response to rumours that emerged after her name was omitted from the list of nominees submitted to the National Assembly for vetting, by President William Ruto.
Miano, previously the Cabinet Secretary for Investments and Trade, was nominated as Kenya’s first female Attorney General in new Cabinet nominations announced by Ruto last week.Â
She accepted the nomination and expressed gratitude for the opportunity on her X account on July 19, 2024.
“I thank H.E. Dr. William Ruto CGH for nominating me to the role of Attorney~General of the Republic of Kenya. Granted the opportunity, I promise to apply myself fully to the tasks attached to that solemn office with my focus being on serving the people of my beloved motherland with utmost dedication, humility and a listening ear,” she posted on her X account.
Attorney-General nominee, Rebecca Miano. /STATE DEPARTMENT FOR INVESTMENT PROMOTION
However, when the list of nominees was presented to the Assembly by Speaker Moses Wetangula on Tuesday, Miano’s name was notably absent, even though the names of the other 10 nominees were included.
This omission sparked public speculation as well as reports that claimed that Miano’s nomination was dropped. However, no official communication has been issued regarding this.
Miano then took to her X account writing “When rumour mills are rolling, the well-advised stay still”, a post that was initially pulled down but reinstated moments later. Her statement has been perceived as a cautious approach amidst the circulating speculations about her exclusion from the list.
Sources who spoke to Viral Tea however noted that Miano had requested for lighter duties given the legally intense nature and high specialty of the Attorney General position.
The Attorney General is the government’s principal legal advisor and is responsible for representing the national Government in court or any other legal proceedings to which the national Government is a party (other than criminal proceedings) and for performing any other functions conferred to the Office by an Act of Parliament or by the President;
He or she who wields that role discharges the functions of a Cabinet Secretary in relation to the Department of Justice and therefore, is responsible for the promotion of human rights and implementation of the Constitution, access to justice including through the promotion of legal aid, good governance, anti-corruption strategies, ethics and integrity, legal education and law reform, among others.
The AG also provides policy, coordination, and oversight with regard to various legal sector institutions and therefore has a broader cross-cutting mandate to support the strengthening of legal sector institutions.Â
Furthermore, the Attorney General is also the promoter of the rule of law and defender of the public interest.
In the meantime, Speaker Wetangula has confirmed that all Cabinet nominees, including those reappointed, will undergo a thorough vetting process by Parliament.
“The record that has arrived in this House is what I have read to you. Nobody will become Minister until and unless the President has written to Parliament, until Parliament has sat in Committee and vetted and until the Whole House has voted on the report of the vetting Committee,” said Wetangula.
President Ruto is expected to name the second batch of nominees in the coming days, to replace the 21 Cabinet Secretaries he sent home when he dissolved his Cabinet on July 11.
President William Ruto chairing a Cabinet meeting at State House, Nairobi on March 7, 2024. /PCS