This archive report was first published on 18 October 2019.
On October 18th, 2019, ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru took swift action to rectify a grave mistake in the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) appointments. He revoked a gazette notice that had reappointed former MP Robert Kochalle to the KFCB board of directors for three more years.
The decision sparked outrage from Kenyans online after it emerged that the appointee had passed away in May 2018. Kochalle died on May 29th, 2018, while undergoing medication at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi.
CS Mucheru has since appointed Kochalle's widow, Charity Kochalle, to the position in a special Gazette notice. The move comes after Kenyan social media users expressed shock and dismay at the initial decision, questioning the competence of the ICT Cabinet Secretary.
However, KFCB CEO Ezekiel Mutua came to the defense of Mucheru, explaining that the mistake was not the Cabinet Secretary's fault. Mutua stated in a tweet, 'Small issue being blown out of proportion. The Board presented the notification to the Ministry for replacement and inadvertently he was reappointed. It was not CS Mucheru's mistake at all as the conversation started when KFCB was under the Ministry of Sports & Culture.'
Robert Kochalle served as MP for Laisamis between 1992 and 1997 and as an assistant minister in the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife.
