MPs approve appointment of Samuel Njoroge as new National Assembly Clerk

MPs on Tuesday voted to confirm the appointment of Mr Samuel Njoroge as the new National Assembly Clerk. He garnered 162 votes for while 94 MPs voted against his appointment. 

Mr Njoroge, who joined Parliament in 2008, was until his appointment, the Director of Legislative and Procedural Services.

To get the job, Mr Njoroge beat, among others, Ms Serah Kioko, the House’s Deputy Clerk, and who has been acting as Clerk since the retirement of Michael Sialai.

Ms Kioko joined Parliament in 1994, rising to the post of deputy clerk. 

The Clerk of the National Assembly is tasked with the day-to-day management and functioning of the House as well as the overall management of the staff of the National Assembly.

As an appointee of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC)—who has to be approved by the House—the clerk is tasked with advising and implementing PSC’s decisions on appointment, promotion and discipline of staff; and assignment of duties as well as supervision of staff. 

Powerful office

The Clerk is also in charge of preparing and submitting the programmes necessary to achieve the mandate of the National Assembly for the PSC to approve.

The holder of the powerful office is also tasked with rendering expert, non-partisan and impartial advice to the members of the National Assembly on the legislative process, and parliamentary procedure and practice. 

During his tenure as Clerk, Mr Sialai is credited with streamlining audit and accounting functions, a move that saw the House get unqualified audit reports for three consecutive financial years between 2018 and 2021.

He is also credited with the promotion of the use of Kiswahili a in Parliament. He is among those who pioneered the translation of the National Assembly’s Standing Orders into Kiswahili in 2021.