This archive report was first published on 11 September 2019.
Kenya's National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has ordered a probe into reports that Mwende Mwinzi, a Kenyan-American, was deployed as Kenya's High Commissioner in Seoul, South Korea without renouncing her US citizenship.
According to reports, Ms. Mwinzi presented her credentials in South Korea, despite the National Assembly Defense and Foreign Relations Committee recommending that she renounce her US citizenship after her vetting in June.
Section 31 (1) of the Leadership and Integrity Act states that an individual with dual citizenship cannot hold a State Office.
Ms. Mwinzi, who was born in the US, had explained during her vetting that she chose to be a Kenyan and that her loyalty lies with Kenya.
She had also stated, "I was born in the US but I belong to Kenya. You can choose where to belong but you cannot choose where to be born. I am a Kenyan through and through. I speak fluent Kamba and Kiswahili," and "I want to make a difference in the quality of our people's lives. I have done this from out there and I will do it in there," during her campaigns for the Mwingi West parliamentary seat.
Speaker Muturi directed the House Committee on Implementation to investigate the claims and advise the Executive on the constitutionality of the nominee taking up the role.
