South Mugirango Member of Parliament Silvanos Osoro maintained that the decision by the Committee on Appointment to reject the nomination of Peninah Malonza as Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage Cabinet Secretary (CS) was biased.
While defending his remarks that sparked uproar where he insinuated that Malonza failed to respond to the questions raised by the committee due to her calendar cycle, Osoro stated he was misunderstood.
Speaking after the swearing-in ceremony at the State House on Thursday, October 27, the outspoken lawmaker insisted the tourism CS might have faced stage fright.
"People raised issues because they did not understand what I meant. I said people should stop judging Malonza by what transpired on that day," he stated.
"She might have fumbled with responding to some questions due to fear. Maybe she had a bad day or maybe someone told her she wasn't well dressed before the vetting lowering her self-esteem," he added.
While responding to the uproar, Osoro made it clear that his words were not meant to demean women, but he was advocating for equal representation.
Moreover, the South Mugirango legislator expressed confidence that Malonza would effectively execute her mandate in the tourism docket.
"I did not intend to demean women. I did not have bad intentions. If Malonza fails to perform just ask me, I believe she will execute her mandate as expected," Osoro remarked.
On Tuesday, October 25, the Committee on Appointments unanimously rejected nomination of Malonza as Tourism CS. The committee agreed that Malonza lacked the requisite abilities and experience to serve as CS for Tourism.
Following their report, Osoro lamented over Malonza's exclusion arguing that she ought to have been approved despite struggling to respond to some questions.
However, her rejection was overturned on Wednesday, October 26, after MPs voted in her favour. Before taking the oath of office, Malonza had further promise to revive the touris sector.
"Kenyans will now see the lioness in me through unmatched performance in my docket,” she insisted.
Malonza previously served as Kitui Deputy Governor. She takes over from Najib Balala, Kenya's longest serving Tourism boss.
