Embattled Diplomat Peter Mathuki Appointed To Russia

President William Ruto on Friday recalled East African Community Secretary-General Peter Mathuki and named him among Kenya’s new diplomats to be posted abroad.

Dr Mathuki may see this as a moment to sigh with relief for dodging a bullet, as an impeachment campaign against him had begun at the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala), currently sitting in Nairobi.

Diplomatic sources told The EastAfrican on Friday that Dr Mathuki was expected to resign from his position anytime now, ending his stint at the regional bloc and hopefully attempts to nail him on the cross at Eala. By Friday evening, he was attending an official meeting in Addis Ababa, representing the EAC.

It was a culmination of a week of frantic efforts.

As soon after word went round among Eala legislators alleging a plot to impeach him, he reached out to his political contacts back home. And President Ruto, an old-time political pal, is said to have obliged.

The impeachment bid relates to queries around alleged irregularities in the expenditure of some $6 million. The allegations, sources said, arose from people close to his office: four individuals — including two Kenyans — complained to one MP.

The MPs attacked him during the Eala plenary session on Tuesday in the presence of the President.

Denis Namara, a Uganda legislator was one of the most vocal in urging Kenya to recall the EAC boss. And when he heard the news of his recall on Friday, he said they would not relent.

“We have heard that he has been appointed as an ambassador to Russia, but we are still going to pursue his record and make the necessary recommendation to the Assembly,” Mr Namara told The EastAfrican on Friday.

A section of MPs accused Dr Mathuki of failure to adhere to the EAC budget rules and procedures of appropriation of budgeted funds, including from donors.

During the debate on President William Ruto’s speech, which he delivered on March 5 during the inaugural session of the 5th Assembly in Nairobi, Namara, the chairperson of the Finance Sub-committee at Eala, broached the subject, charging: “The financial rules of the Treaty establishing the EAC, Budget Act, and all the legislation provide that every money coming into the Community must be appropriated. Over $6 million has been collected and, as far as I am concerned, and has been spent but has never gone through appropriation. The SG never brought it to parliament for appropriation.”

By Tuesday, Dr Mathuki who was in Nairobi, had sought to speak about achievements and even scheduled media events that never came to fruition.

Sources say that given the seriousness of the campaign by MPs, Kenya decided to pull the plug for two reasons: An impeachment would soil Kenya’s name as a producer of diligent international professionals and it would also be the first time the Assembly has pulled such a move on a secretary-general.

For Dr Mathuki, an ambassadorial role looks like a soft landing, meaning that he has to resign before Eala gets down to discussing the nuts and bolts of his conduct.

The idea is to prevent an impeachment at all, one diplomat told The EastAfrican.

Dr Mathuki becomes the first-ever EAC secretary-general to be recalled by his government before the end of the five-year tenure, having been appointed during the 21st Ordinary virtual Summit of the EAC Heads of State in March 2021.

His next hurdle will be two-pronged, sources said. First, the Kenyan National Assembly must vet him for the ambassadorial job. With the allegations of financial mismanagement hanging over his head, it could still come up. The second is whether Moscow will accept him, something that depends entirely on Russia.

If Moscow doesn’t take him in, the option for Kenya would be to send him to another station, or give him lighter duties. It could still close a difficult chapter for a former Kenyan legislator handpicked by the former President Uhuru Kenyatta to lead the bloc for the first time for Kenya in 20 years.

Dr Mathuki holds a PhD in strategic management and regional integration from the University of Nairobi, and was CEO of the East African Business Council before he was appointed SG in 2021.

According to the Treaty the EAC Heads of State Summit can remove, recall or replace a secretary-general. The officer can also be replaced in case of death.

“Being an ex officio of government, the EAC Secretary-General can be removed upon recommendation of his partner state. He can also be impeached by parliament,” said Mr Namara.

Namara had warned that the next plenary session, which is expected in Kampala after the Nairobi one, might not take place because the SG was yet to present a supplementary budget for appropriation before the Assembly.

“I want to request him before we go for another plenary to present the budget … Otherwise the next plenary will not be held because there is no budget,” the MP said.

He took a swipe at the SG who he accused of failing to adhere to the treaty rules and procedures on the use of funds.

Pushing for Dr Mathuki’s sacking Mr Namara said: “Human resource is very important as far as integration is concerned because having people who are not ideological, clear, mission-oriented, we cannot go far, we may run but we may not reach there because they make us crash.”

Dr Mathuki sought to defend himself on the floor of the Assembly, saying that the budget issues raised by members and use of funds would be discussed soon.

“We need to strike a balance to ensure that the effectiveness of the Community is meaningful in serving the people of the EAC as the bigger picture,” he said.

“The issues raised by the members in relation to their participation in activities and programmes due to issues of budget, is well noted and we will look into the matter.”

He said that the Council of Ministers had set March 27-30 to meet and discuss some of the issues facing the Community. “We are calling members to a retreat to address some of the issues members are talking about,” said Dr Mathuki.

“To ameliorate the resource constraint which persistently hampers our progress, this Assembly is called upon to reflect deeply on the range of opportunities, and the various ways in which it can complement national and regional efforts to mobilise and allocate more resources to the regional integration agenda,” said President Ruto.

Uganda MP Paul Musamali, in his vote of thanks after President Ruto’s speech, launched at Dr Mathuki, before the President, for failing to adhere to the EAC rules and procedures of recruitment and use of limited resources which President Ruto alluded to.

“In every organisation, human resources are the most important thing,” said Musamali. “There is a need for all partner states to ensure that when deploying people in the service of the Community, it should be people who are ideologically oriented and clear about the mission, vision and the EAC agenda.”

He criticised Mathuki’s leadership, calling for an investigation into his management of finances.

“Otherwise, if we just deploy for sake of it or don’t pay attention to who is deployed at EAC, from the Secretary-General to the lowest cadre, your Excellency, we risk employing merchants.”

Another MP, Kennedy Mukulia, tabled the EAC Peace Facility August 2022 to August 2023 report, whose funding was not presented before the Eala as per the rules and procedures of the budget making process.

“The SG did not adhere to the rules and regulations on the recruitment of staff on short contracts as well as proper procedures on the use of donor funds,” charged Mr Mukulia.

The three-week session, which ends March 20, will hold its debates under the chairmanship of the EALA Speaker, Joseph Ntakirutimana.