KENYA has nominated Caroline Mwende Mueke to take over as Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), replacing Dr Peter Mathuki who was recently appointed ambassador to Russia.

Peninah Malonza, the East African Cooperation, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development cabinet secretary, issued this instruction back on March 9, made this clear in a letter to the South Sudan Minister for East African Community Affairs who currently serves as the chairman of the EAC Council of Ministers.

The letter says that the new appointment to head the EAC Secretariat is part of prerogatives of the EAC Summit, in accordance with Article 67 (1) of the EAC Treaty.

The ministry has therefore sent the notice of withdrawal of the nomination of an appointee to the post of secretary general at the EAC headquarters in Arusha as well as similar ministries in member states, relating to revoking appointment of Dr Mathuki.

 “Pursuant to Regulation 118 of the EAC Staff Rules and Regulations 2013, the Republic of Kenya hereby gives notice of withdrawal of Dr Peter Mutuku Mathuki as the Secretary General, from the date to be determined by the Summit of Heads of State,” the dispatch read in part, explaining the move as arising from his nomination on 8th March, 2024 for appointment as ambassador. He will be serving the republic in a different capacity, the letter intoned.

The cabinet secretary asked the EAC Secretariat to convene an extraordinary meeting of the ministerial council to consider the notice of withdrawal, and submit a request to the chairman of the summit to liaise on the same, it stated. While the statutes have a provision for convening an extra ordinary summit to consider the notice of withdrawal, observers didn’t expect the summit to convene for that reason as there are no contentious issues to be raised by the member states on the matter.

Theo outcome of disputes in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) as regards the use of funds in the secretariat without EALA notification, debate and approval was sighted in the presence of President William Ruto, opening the latest EALA session in Nairobi.

Thereafter, an influential weekly magazine in the Nation newspaper group, The East African, wrote a front page banner headline, ‘Why Mathuki has to go,’ an editorial position that seemed to reflect the thinking of the highest levels in the corridors of power in Nairobi.

Dr Mathuki, now replaced by Caroline Mwende, served in the post for three years, thereby demanding that another appointee from Nairobi completes the rotating five year term.

An online biography says that growing up in Kenya, Mwende Caroline Mueke (MPA ’01) felt a strong pull toward public service. Early in her professional career, she worked for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Eastern Africa. 

In that job it became clear to her that the challenges in her field were more complicated than she had imagined, with refugee camps staying open for decades. To strengthen her education in international public affairs, she enrolled in Wagner’s international program, which focuses on developing countries.

There were several factors that shaped Mwende’s experience at Wagner. Her advisor challenged her to compare the theories she learned in her classes with the practices she saw on the ground with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).  Mwende’s Capstone project focused on decentralization and local governance in Sub-Saharan Africa – an area that had particular relevance to Mwende’s personal career interests.

Also while at Wagner, Mwende helped organize the Oprah Winfrey Scholars programme, which brings two African women each year to NYU Wagner to study public policy and management. “For me,” Mwende says, “as an African woman, doing something to support other African women further their education in public administration (a much needed skill in Africa) was an important effort worth contributing to.”

The experience that Mwende gained at Wagner led to a full-time job after graduating as a program specialist at UNDP. Until the new appointment, she was regional coordination advisor in the management and coordination unit of the UN regional directors’ team for Eastern and Southern Africa, based in Johannesburg.

In her free time, Mwende developed an interest in community service and became a founding member of a community-based organization supporting AIDS orphans in Kenya. She was looking forward to eventually returning to Kenya to use her academic credentials and development experience to work for the Kenya public service commission, the biographical note had concluded.