Ex-CS Sicily Kariuki reveals why she was hesitant about taking over youth affairs docket

Former Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki has revealed that she was sceptical about taking over the office when former President Uhuru Kenyatta handpicked her in 2015.

Speaking on Citizen TV’s JKLive Show on Wednesday night, Kariuki noted that she initially thought she would exclusively handle matters to do with public service and gender affairs, and not the youth docket which contained the scandal-hit National Youth Service (NYS).

Kariuki was promoted to the ministry after a two-year stint as Agriculture Principal Secretary following the resignation of six Cabinet Secretaries implicated in corruption scandals.

“I joined the Uhuru administration in 2013 and then two years later there were the skirmishes and a couple of ministers left. There were 26 PSs then, and I do recall that I was the only PS who was promoted,” she told show host Jeff Koinange.

“I was going into a space where CS Waiguru had just left NYS. It was untidy and I do recall when the President made the announcement he said I would be moving to the Ministry of Public Service and Gender, period. I was very okay with it until the following morning I called to get a brief and I was told that youth affairs would be under my docket.”

She added that the corruption scandals linked to NYS made her question whether she was the right person for the job and whether she could turn the fortunes of the ministry around.

“The youth is equal to NYS and NYS was equal to a scandal and there was a lot of public disgust around that space,” she said.

Kariuki added that since she never applied for the CS docket she momentarily contemplated turning down the promotion but after some thinking resorted to accept the job and all its challenges.