CS Mucheru blames work engagements after skipping Senate summon

ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru on Friday blamed work engagements for his failure to honour summons by the Senate Committee on ICT and technology.

The committee had summoned Mr. Mucheru to explain the controversial media shutdown that denied Kenyans access to information for 10 days.

The government shut down four private TV stations; Citizen TV, Inooro TV, KTN and NTV for transmitting live coverage of the “swearing in” of opposition leader Raila Odinga on January 30.

In a letter addressed to Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye and copied to the committee’s chairperson Gideon Moi and Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua , CS Mucheru reiterated that he will be unable to appear before the committee as ordered by the committee after he failed to show up on Thursday.

He said that he will only be available from February 26.

“My failure to appear before the Senate Committee on ICT was due to unforeseen exingencies of duty. This office regrets the apprehension that the communication on my unavailability elicited within the committee,” the letter read.

CS Mucheru further requested the committee to issue him with a detailed list of the areas that the committee seeks to ask him questions for “clarity and synchrony”