On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, Alfred Mutua, the former Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, officially transferred the responsibilities to his successor, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
This comes two weeks after President William Ruto broadened Mudavadi’s portfolio. The handover ceremony took place at the Railways Headquarters in Nairobi, within the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary.
At the event, CS Mutua, now leading the Tourism and Wildlife docket, outlined his accomplishments during the eleven months he oversaw the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs.
The Cabinet Secretary highlighted that during his tenure, he had the privilege of championing Kenya’s national interests on the global stage. This involved strengthening strategic bilateral and multilateral partnerships, notably revitalizing alliances with countries in the Global South.
CS Mutua said the ministry had dedicated considerable efforts to advocate for Peace, Security, and Sustainable Development at the continental level, embracing a spirit of positive Pan-Africanism.
He elaborated on the ministry’s endeavors, emphasizing their commitment to advancing Kenya’s Economic Diplomacy, Cultural Diplomacy, and Environmental Diplomacy. Notable achievements included the successful hosting of the 5th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union in July of this year and the Africa Climate Summit held last month.
“In the last one year, our Foreign Policy has been guided by the need to empower the Kenyan people. Many of you have asked whether our policy is East or West leaning. I have previously said that our policy is WORLD leaning for the benefit of our people,” Mutua said.
The former Machakos Governor also highlighted the positive impact of Kenya’s visa-free initiative, allowing Kenyan travelers access to South Africa, DRC, Senegal, Eritrea, and Congo Brazzaville. This initiative, he pointed out, had opened doors for business communities.
Mutua underscored that his ministry actively participated in various programs to fulfill the bottom-up economic transformation agenda of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
“We continued to align our work plans to resonate with the Bottom-up economic transformation agenda (BETA) as per the pillars of Kenya Kwanza, namely Agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Housing and settlement, Healthcare, Digital superhighway and creative economy and Environment and climate change.
“Due to our continued engagements, Moderna will set up a USD 500 million manufacturing plant in Tatu city to produce pharmaceuticals and vaccines for Kenya and Africa. The factory will have capacity to produce 500 million doses of vaccines per year as well as other pharmaceuticals, thus creating jobs and earn the country the much-needed forex,” he said.
During his tenure, Mutua stated that he spearheaded the operationalization of the State Department of Diaspora Affairs. This department is actively engaged in efforts to improve the welfare of Kenyans living in the Diaspora.
“These great achievements would not have been possible without the support of my dedicated staff at the Ministry led by the highly professional and experienced leadership team consisting of Dr. Korir Sing’oei, Principal Secretary, State Department for Foreign Affairs and Ms. Roseline NJOGU, Principal Secretary for Diaspora Affairs,” the CS said.
Mutua expressed his confidence in Mudavadi’s ability to guide the ministry in the right direction.
In response, Mudavadi pledged to build upon the foundation laid by Mutua, aiming to further advance the country’s growth and development.
“I will leverage our position as guarantor of regional peace. I will pursue free trade area and other regional economic blocks,” Mudavadi said.
“Whenever any Kenyan in the diaspora will be in distress, we deploy diplomatic tools to ensure the protection of our people.”
