Clueless: Committee rejects President Ruto's nominee for DRC diplomatic role

The Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations has rejected the nomination of Charles Githinji as Consul General to Goma, DRC

In a report tabled before the House yesterday afternoon by the committee chairman Nelson Koech, the MPs rejected Mr Githinji due to lack of knowledge on the area to which he has been nominated to.

“The nominee demonstrated a considerable lack of knowledge of the expected duties of a consul general and the station to which he had been nominated to serve,” read the report

“The committee found that the nominee is not suitable to be appointed to serve as a consul general to Goma-DRC on the ground that he does not possess the requisite qualities, abilities, knowledge and experience,” reads the report.

The committee now wants future nominees for the position of consul generals vetted after their nominations before approval by the National Assembly.

“The committee recommends that henceforth, consuls general should undergo vetting after their nomination by the appointing authority and that the appointing authority recalls serving consuls-General not vetted for vetting and approval by the National Assembly,” read the report.

Meanwhile, the committee approved all other 25 nominees saying they demonstrated technical abilities.

During vetting last week, the team raised questions over the qualification of Mr Githinji who demonstrated a lack of grasp of issues.

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For instance, Mr Githinji did not know what GDP stands for. He told the committee that GDP means the total population of a country.

Interestingly, Mr Githinji also told the committee that he does not know what (EACRF) stands for. When asked about countries that share borders with DRC, he mentioned Malawi.

“It’s very disappointing and frustrating interviewing you when you don’t even know what EACRF is,” committee chairman Nelson Koech told the nominee.

While addressing a press conference after the vetting exercise last week, Mr Koech said all the nominees who showed incompetence would not go to their stations.

“It is too early to discuss nominees' capabilities and competence besides, it’s not a decision that I can make as a chairman but it is a collective decision of the committee. What I will tell you is that all those who have shown incompetence for sure will not go to their stations,” Mr Koech said. It seems he has made good his threat.

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Mr Githinji who scored D- in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) also scored grade E in both Kiswahili and English.

In addition, Mr Githinji has no other post-secondary education and the only experience on his sleeve is being a petrol station attendant which MPs said is irrelevant to the job awaiting him.

He told MPs the college he was attending in Kasarani was closed by the Ministry of Education before he could sit for his exams.

“As a petrol station attendant, you don’t need any experience, you don’t even need to talk to anyone,” Central Imenti Kirima Ngucine told the nominee during vetting.

Kajiado Central MP Elijah Kanchory Memusi had advised the nominee to consider declining his nomination and give a chance to other qualified diplomats.

“How do you think qualified diplomats with PhDs are feeling when they see your nomination? Don’t you think you should leave the position to others? Asked Mr Memusi asked.

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Although having a degree or a diploma is not among the obligatory requirements for an ambassadorial job, at least one needs to demonstrate competence and a grasp of issues for the job he has been nominated for.

Having a basic knowledge of your yet-to-be workstation and the economic relations or how Kenya benefits from the respective is considered by the committee as a demonstration of competence for the nominee.