Did President Uhuru Kenyatta make a fake job promise to former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka?
Over 3 months after Uhuru made a promise to make Kalonzo a peace envoy, details have emerged that the promise is yet to be fulfilled.
Kalonzo was widely reported to have been appointed to the position as part of the handshake goodies but nothing has since come his way.
Foreign Affairs PS Macharia Kamau has indeed confirmed that he is not yet head of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission on Peace in South Sudan.
Kamau, a former envoy to the United Nations, however, said the matter is under consideration.
“The reason why JMEC is yet to communicate is probably because the Intergovernmental Authority for Development meeting is yet to happen,” he said.
But a source at the JMEC secretariat told the Star there has been no communication whatsoever about Kalonzo’s appointment.
Asked whether Kalonzo is under consideration for any position, the source said, “Not that is known. The narrative was one that was sold by Kenya intelligence operatives.
“In any case, Kenyatta has zero authority to appoint the chair of JMEC. The chair is appointed by the IGAD Summit [heads of states] chaired by Ethiopia’s [Prime Minister Ahmed] Abiy.”
Raila is already flying across the continent as AU High Representative for Infrastructure Development.
JMEC, which Kalonzo was to lead, is part of the Igad framework and has been overseeing the peace process in volatile South Sudan since 2013.
The commission is mandated to monitor the implementation of the 2015 peace deal between President Salva Kiir and ex-rebel leader Riek Machar. It reports directly to Igad’s heads of state and government.