President Uhuru Kenyatta has nominated Immaculate Kassait, a former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Director, for the position of Data Commissioner.
Following the communication from the Head of State, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi on Tuesday directed the Departmental Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation to vet the nominee.
“I hereby refer this Message, together with the Curriculum Vitae of the Nominee to the Departmental Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation to undertake the necessary approval hearings and table its report to enable the House to consider the matter within the statutory timelines,” he stated.
The committee is expected to table the report within 14 days but the speaker said it can request for an extension.
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“Noting that the 14-day period within which the Committee is expected to consider the nominee and table its report for debate will lapse during the period of the short recess, the Committee is at liberty to seek an extension of time,” he said.
Ms Kassait served as Director Voter education, partnerships and communication at IEBC.
Previously, she also served as the Director of Voter Registration and Electoral Operations at IEBC worked as the Programme Manager at the Institute for Education in Democracy for four years and worked as the Programme Officer at FIDA Kenya.
The Data Commissioner position was created following the coming into effect of the Data Protection Act, which aims to regulate the processing of personal data and protect the privacy of individuals.
Read Also: 12 Candidates Shortlisted For Data Commissioner Post
Last month the government announced that 12 candidates had been shortlisted for the position and interviews were scheduled for September 22.
ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru revealed in June that the position would be filled by July. However, the PSC suspended plans to fill the position after Lawyer Adrian Kamotho challenged the process at the Employment and Labour Court citing PSC’s failure to disclose the time and origin of the notification which led to the declaration of the vacancy.
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