National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has said that parliament will not be blackmailed to approve the nomination of South Korea envoy Mwende Mwinzi.
In a long post on his Facebook, Duale said that parliament will stick to the rules of the house as far as her nomination is concerned.
He noted that the rules clearly outlined that anyone nominated for the position of ambassador or high commissioner to any foreign nation must renounce her or his dual citizenship status before assuming office.
He said that the report tabled in parliament clearly indicated that Mwende must renounce her citizenship before she is allowed to take the oath of office as required by the constitution of the land.
“As Kenyans are aware, on 6th June, 2019, the Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations of the National Assembly tabled a report approving six nominees and put a condition on 7th nominee Ms.Mwende Mwinzi for appointment as the Ambassador to South Korea subject to upon appointment and before taking office, renouncing her American citizenship in line with section 31 of the Leadership and Integrity Act,” he said
He added, "Section 31 of the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012 is clear that a person who holds dual citizenship shall upon appointment to a state office not take office before renouncing their other citizenship.”
Mwende has been accusing Parliament of misleading Kenyans and frustrating her bid to assume office. She has insisted that she is not ready to renounce American citizenship no matter the pressure put on her.