NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 31 – President Uhuru Kenyatta has nominated Defence Cabinet Secretary Amb. Monica Juma to contest for the position of Secretary General of the Commonwealth in Kenya’s latest charm offensive to raise her profile on the global stage.
Kenyatta who termed the commonwealth as a ‘primary actor’ in addressing some of the challenges facing member states made the announcement on Monday, setting in motion what is expected to be a vigorous lobbying campaign for Kenya’s former Foreign Affairs minister to clinch the top seat.
The commonwealth consists of 54 countries (mostly former British colonies) who share a common heritage and tradition.
“It is my hope that the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit (CHOGM) will consider this nomination favourably. Amb Dr. Monica Juma is Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Defence, who formerly served in the same capacity in the Foreign Affairs docket. Also as Principal Secretary she served across the security departments of government; namely Defence, Interior and Coordination of National Government, and Foreign Affairs. Her exemplary service as one of Kenya’s top diplomats establishes Amb. Dr. Juma as a diplomat per excellence,” said Kenyatta.
The president said that Juma is a strong consensus candidate that will deliver an effective secretariat driven by member states priorities.
“The success of our organization lies in its ability to effectively address the needs of the member states, shape the collective agenda and implement its decisions for the realization of our common aspirations. All these require steadfast leadership at the Secretariat to deliver a dynamic and influential Commonwealth,” he said.
As Secretary General, Juma would be responsible for promoting and protecting the commonwealth’s values, representing it on the global stage and managing its secretariat.
“She will help bolster unity amongst the Commonwealth family, and also enhance innovative partnership that optimizes the impact of our organization,” the President said.
The Secretary-General is nominated by Commonwealth leaders and can serve a maximum of 2 terms of 4 years each.
The Rt .Hon. Patricia Scotland QC is the current Commonwealth Secretary-General.
The Commonwealth’s Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was initially supposed to take place last year in Kigali, Rwanda but it was subsequently postponed.
It was postponed again due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year.
Kenya has in the recent past tossed her hat in the ring for various continental and global positions to no avail.
In 2020, Sports,Culture and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Amb. Amina Mohammed was nominated to compete for the position of the Head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) but eventually lost out to Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
In 2016 Amina was yet again tasked to steer Kenya’s diplomatic engagements to even greater heights after she was nominated to contest for the African Union chairperson position.
The career diplomat however also lost out to Chadian Moussa Faki Mahamat who is currently serving his second term as the head of the AU commission.
It is not all defeat for Kenya in the global stage however after it beat Djibouti to get elected to the United Nation security Council (UNSC).
The UNSC has five permanent, veto-wielding members; China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
It also has 10 elected members with seats allocated to regional groups and five new members elected every year.
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