Former outspoken Nairobi Women Representative Rachel Shebesh has rejected a proposal that she leaves cabinet to deputise Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko.
Shebesh on Thursday said she is currently a civil servant and would not want to engage in politics.
Her response came ten days after Sonko shortlisted five people he says are likely to deputise and help him manage the affairs of East and Central Africa's largest city.
In a statement, Sonko said he had forwarded the five names of his nominees to the Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi for discussion and vetting and among those in the list was Shebesh.
"I am presently a civil servant and I want to spend my time serving Kenyans in my current position," Shebesh said in Nairobi.
Shebesh landed in the cabinet when President Uhuru Kenyatta constituted his cabinet and appointed her Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs under Cabinet Secretary Margaret Kobia.
Others in Sonko's list included Citizen Television news anchor Anne Kiguta, former Nominated Senator and former Kasarani MP Elizabeth Ongoro, former Nairobi Women Representative aspirant Karen Nyamu and Ann Kigure.
Shebesh joined cabinet after unsuccessfully defending her Nairobi Women Representative seat that was clinched by ODM's Esther Passaris.