While eulogising the late Economics Planning Minister Zachary Onyonka, his contemporary and fellow intellectual Mwai Kibaki simply said, “This man understood how the Government works”.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Cabinet had three people who understood how the Government works; Michael Kamau who was Transport CS, Anne Waiguru who was the Devolution CS and Ambassador Amina Mohammed.
The first two fell by the wayside leaving Amina Mohammed as the last ‘man’ standing in the Cabinet. And today, it is not shocking that she is by far Kenya’s best performing Cabinet secretary.
At over five foot ten, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Cabinet Secretary stands tall above her peers.
A native Somali, she is the adopted daughter of the Mulembe nation all the way in Western Kenya.
A girl who grew up in Amalemba Estate in Kakamega and schooled at Township Primary School and Butere Girls. This seems to have inculcated in her a world view and a sense of nationhood that many leaders with a tribal lense will never have.
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Her career CV will make many tribal and village chiefs hang their heads in shame, yet she has maintained an enviable sense of humility.
Brilliant, beautiful, stylish, articulate and yet unassuming, she breathes remarkable freshness and class into the boring business of Government. A sharp dresser, often with a scarf loosely tied around her neck and dimpled smile, she brought to the Cabinet the rare combination of beauty and brains.
Her appointment to the docket was a master stroke from the President and his deputy. Her many years of experience at the United Nations and international positions would serve her well.
For in three short years at the Foreign Affairs docket, the lawyer, diplomat and politician has changed Kenya’s foreign policy from the predictable ‘wait and see’ that existed since Munyua Waiyaki.
In its place, she has crafted and implemented an astute strategy that has propelled Kenya into a respected global brand and serious player in the geopolitics of the region.
Just see how renowned world leaders are crowding President Uhuru’s diary with visits to Kenya. Under her leadership, Kenya no longer reacts…it acts. It defines events and moments and rallies Africa and the region to causes it holds dear.
Standard Media
