Homa Bay Town Member of Parliament (MP) Peter Kaluma has thrown his weight behind the approval of Kipchumba Murkomen after the Parliament Committee on Appointment decided to bring him back to Ruto’s cabinet.
In a rare show of camaraderie during a parliament proceeding on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, Kaluma exuded confidence in Murkomen’s abilities, stating that he was one of the most valued players of the parliament team.
“I thank the President for appointing Murkomen to the Ministry of Sports; this was our best striker in Bunge Football Club, position number nine, and I’m not worried at all that he will do very well,” Kaluma said.
In the weeks leading to the dissolution of the cabinet by President William Ruto, Murkomen came under sharp scrutiny after he went to a local TV show and said that the total of whatever he had worn on that particular day was in the region of Ksh1.1 million.
Murkomen 50k belt
In the interview, he revealed that his watch was worth 900k, shoes worth 80k, a 50k belt, and a tie worth 20k.
The statements would days later fan a national discussion of the opulence of public servants in the wake of calls by the government for ordinary citizens to tighten their belts in response to tough economic conditions.
In a public engagement on X, Ruto called out leaders in his government for displaying opulence even as the ordinary citizens struggled to afford the most basic of needs, saying he would call them to order.
Ruto said that some of the youthful leaders displaying their opulence needed guidance rather than condemnation, adding that he was personally mentoring some of them to be better future leaders in the country.
However, during the vetting of the Sports CS nominee Murkomen on Saturday, August 3, 2024, he defended his actions after the Parliament Committee on Appointment brought up the issue of opulence.
“I am not arrogant; in fact, I am as gentle as a dove. People who are my friends know that I cannot hurt a fly. Many friends I have worked with know the problem with public service: you face a lot of challenges, and when you respond in a certain way, they say you are arrogant,” Murkomen said.
On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, the committee approved 19 cabinet nominees, rejecting only the Gender CS nominee Stella Lang’at on the grounds that she failed to demonstrate adequate knowledge of topical, administrative, and technical issues touching on the portfolio to which she had been nominated.
