The first five cabinet nominees appearing before the parliamentary committee chaired by the Speaker Moses Wetangula on Thursday have a combined net worth of roughly KShs. 2.5bn.
- Among other considerations during the vetting, nominees are also expected to declare their net worth.
- Of particular concern is how the net worth of nominees who were in the previous cabinet has changed over the last 20 months.
- Majority said they acquired their wealth from businesses, savings, assets and salary income.
Appearing before the panel on day one were Education Ministry nominee Julius Migos Ogemba; Defense nominee Soipan Tuya; Interior and National Administration Nominee Kithure Kindiki; Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development Alice Wahome; and Health nominee Debra Mlongo Barasa.
Education Ministry nominee Julius Migos Ogamba told the committee that he is worth KShs. 790 million, money he acquired from his law firm, land, tea, trees, farm equipment and vehicles.
The 57-year-old Nairobi University graduate has practiced Law for 31 years and currently is the board chairman of the Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen).
Kithure Kindiki, the Interior and National Administration Nominee was one of the cabinet secretaries fired by President William Ruto but later reappointed. During his first vetting in 2022, he disclosed to the same committee that he was valued at KShs. 544 million.
Kindiki says from his salaries and allowances, law firm business, and clients offsetting pending bills, he has been able to grow his wealth to KShs 694 million from KShs 544 million he quoted two years ago.
Just like Kithure Kindiki, nominee Soipan Tuya (Defence and Alice Wahome (Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development) also were sacked as part of concession to protestors demands after the rejection of Finance Bill 2024. They were lucky to be among few to get nominations hoping for the committee’s approval to be part of the executive again.
Alice Wahome, whose net worth was KShs. 218, 400,000 in 2022, has grown her wealth to KShs. 327,650,000. “I have grown in those two years, it is my properties which have appreciated in value and then there was one tenant who was not paying rent, but paid about Ksh14 million in March,” she said.
Alice Wahome is an advocate of the high court of Kenya, served as a member of parliament for two terms and appointed to the cabinet in 2022.
Soipan Tuya who was worth KShs. 156 million has grown her wealth to Ksh243 million within the two-year period. She links her wealth to asset appreciation, businesses and one asset which she has acquired in Nairobi.
Debra Mlongo Barasa, the health docket nominee, says her wealth is Ksh455,845,320, calculated as a combined net worth with her spouse.
The vetting process is still ongoing, as other nominees are due to face the committee over the next few days.
In April, The Wealth Report revealed that there are currently 135,200 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) with liquid investable wealth of USD 1 million or more living in Africa, along with 342 centi-millionaires worth USD 100 million or more-, and 21-dollar billionaires.
The continent’s ‘Big 5’ wealth markets — South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco — together account for 56 per cent of the continent’s millionaires and over 90% of its billionaires.
