Serah Kioko, the acting Clerk of the National Assembly is among the four names that were interviewed and shortlisted for the powerful position, a month after she made history becoming the first female clerk to swear in lawmakers.
The position of the Clerk of the National Assembly fell vacant after the then clerk Michael Sialai, whose tenure expired and subsequently appointed as Kenya’s High Commissioner to Namibia in July 2022.
Sialai handed over to Kioko in an acting capacity effectively kick-starting the process to find a substantive clerk.
The four candidates who were interviewed by the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) will know their fate on Tuesday, November 1, when Sialai's permanent successor will be announced.
The other candidates eying the powerful position include Eunice Wanjiku Gichangi, Samuel Njoroge and Mohammed Ali Mohamad.
Kioko has been serving as the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly overseeing and supervising chamber duties and assisting the Clerk in offering advisory to the Speaker. She boasts of a 28-year long service as a Parliamentary Officer.
Samuel Njoroge on the other hand, has been serving as the Director of Legislative and Procedural Services while Mohammed Ali is currently serving as the Senate’s deputy Clerk.
The other candidate eying the powerful position in parliament is Eunice Wanjiku Gichangi. Gichangi is currently the Deputy Clerk in the Senate.
In July, the then leading main parties in the National Assembly - Jubilee and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) - were divided over who to back for the seat.
Bribery allegations rocked the recruitment process for the next clerk with a section of lawmakers affiliated to ODM claiming that a particular candidate "had bought all members” of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC).
The Clerk to the National Assembly is a powerful position in charge of administrative functions at the National Assembly.
The holder of the office will also be the the authorized officer for the National Assembly, and responsible for all policy and organizational matters relating to the National Assembly among other functions.
