Jubilee Secretary-General Raphael Tuju Explains His Role as a Cabinet Secretary without Portfolio

Jubilee Party secretary-general Raphael Tuju has explained his role as a Cabinet Secretary without portfolio.

In an interview with Daily Nation, Tuju said that his mandate involves helping Cabinet Secretaries to deliver on President Kenyatta's pledges to Kenyans.

“I sit in the Cabinet to represent the interests of the President’s party. We went around the country promising certain things that we will do, and my role is to ensure that I give whatever assistance to ensure that we are on focus as far as those issues are concerned,” Tuju said.

Tuju further disclosed that he will bring the political voice in the Cabinet, which will allow other CSs to focus on their work.

“When an issue that should be in the domain of one CS is made political, then it lands right on my desk. It is my role to make the political comments without anybody accusing those particular CSs of engaging in politics,”Tuju told the Nation.

Unlike other CS appointees, Tuju, who President Kenyatta announced will be “co-opted to the Caninet on a need basis” was not vetted by the National Assembly.

“That I do not have a portfolio means I cannot be vetted by Parliament, because, what will they ask? What expertise do I need to run which ministry? I didn’t need that, because you cannot ask me what I will do in such and such a ministry,” said Tuju.

However, Tuju who has previously served as the Foreign Affairs, Tourism and Information Minister in past regimes, took oath of office on Tuesday.

“The CSs answer to the President and the Deputy President,” Tuju said, when questioned what he would do if a CS deviated from the party line.

“But on an issue that they are maybe blind sighted to, my job is to point out that this is not sitting very well, based on the manifesto that we had. We have not reached that point yet, but when we do, I’ll exercise a lot of humility, and courtesy.”