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Anne Mwenda to be vetted for deputy governor post next week


Nairobi County Disaster Management and Coordination Chief Officer Anne Mwenda will next week Friday be vetted by Nairobi County Assembly for the deputy governor position.

This is after the High Court allowed the withdrawal of a petition by Nairobi voter Peter Agoro that was challenging her nomination to the position by former Governor Mike Sonko.

Consequently, the withdrawal of the case paved way for Ms Mwenda whose nomination had been put on hold since early last year when her name was committed to the Assembly’s Appointment and Vetting committee.

In a public notice by Nairobi County Assembly Clerk Edward Gichana, Ms Mwenda will now face the committee on Friday January 15 for a chance to assume the vacant office following the resignation of former holder Polycarp Igathe in January 31, 2018.

The 40-year-old was nominated by Sonko on January 6, 2020 before her name was submitted to the county assembly the same month.

But before the assembly could conclude vetting of the nominee, Mr Agoro moved to court challenging the nomination and in the process halting the vetting process after the High Court on February 17, 2020 issued conservatory orders preventing the assembly from proceeding with the vetting process.

However, the order was lifted on Thursday after the court allowed the application for the withdrawal of the said petition, thereby vacating the earlier conservatory orders.

“In the circumstances, and pursuant to the provisions of Section 7(4) and 7(5) of the Public Appointments (County Assemblies) Approval Act, 2017, notice is hereby given of an approval hearing to be undertaken by the County Assembly’s Select Committee on Appointments, on January 15, 2021, In the County Assembly Plenary Chamber starting 10.30 am, in relation to the above-named nominee,” read in part the notice.

“The nominee is required to collect the vetting forms from the Office of the Clerk to the County Assembly during official working hours as from January 8, 2021 and return them together with copies of the following documents by January 11, 2021 at 5.00 pm,” it added.

The documents include curriculum vitae/personal credentials/academic certificates and other testimonials; compliance certificate from Higher Education Loans Board (HELB); compliance certificate from Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and clearance certificate from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

Other documents are a certificate of good conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and clearance certificate from the Credit Reference Bureau.

“The nominee shall be required to come with the original documents on the day of the approval hearing,” stated the notice.

Meanwhile, members of the public have been invited to attend the approval hearing, and/or submit any information or comments on the suitability or otherwise of the nominee.

The submissions should be made by way of sworn statements or affidavits and should be accompanied by any documentary evidence and should reach the office of the clerk on or before January 14, 2021.

But who is Ms Mwenda, a chief officer who could find herself thrust into the leadership of City Hall before March?

Ms Mwenda was born in Embu County and attended St Michael Primary School in the same county from Class One to Eight where Mathematics and Science were her favourite subjects.

She would then join Our Lady of Mercy Girls Nagundu for secondary education sitting her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in 1999 before joining University of Nairobi for a certificate in Public Relations and Human Resources between 2011 and 2012 and later St Paul’s University for a diploma course in Criminology in 2013.

Ms Mwenda would then proceed to Dedan Kimathi University for a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology and Security Management majoring in Forensic Investigations in 2016.

She also has a Certificate in Crisis Management from AVSEC, Female Screening, Man Portable Air Defense Systems (Man pads Training) from US Department of Homeland Security.

“I can describe myself as a hardworking person who likes to explore different fields to learn more on different things that affect our livelihoods,” she said in an earlier interview with the Nation.

Her breakthrough would come when she applied for the position of county chief officer where she went through vigorous interview by the Nairobi County Public Service Board before being vetted by the County Assembly committee on culture.

She would then be appointed as a chief officer in charge of disaster management and coordination in May, 2018.

Ms Mwenda worked as a Security Supervisor in charge of Quality Control and Training at Kenya Airports Authority before joining City Hall.

She has also worked as a Personal Assistant, H. Mogambi & CO. Advocates between 2003 and 2004 and Customer Service and Personal Assistant to the CEO, MOKIR Enterprises between 2002 and 2003.

The mother of one was married to the late Philip Njiru Muthathai who passed on in January, 2019 through a grisly road accident at Devki in Athi River.