'Raila's daughter' set to be first female CS from Turkana County

Beatrice Askul Moe. [File, Standard]

It is a win for Turkana County following President William Ruto's nomination of Beatrice Askul Moe as Cabinet Secretary East African Community.

She will be the first female CS from Turkana and the second from the community to hold the CS position after John Munyes, who served in Uhuru Kenyatta's administration.

The nomination was announced Tuesday through communication by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei.

If approved by Parliament, Moe will serve as Cabinet Secretary for EAC, Arid and Semi-Aid Lands and Regional Development.

Moe is a social scientist who previously served as the County Executive Committee Member in charge of Water, Irrigation, Agriculture and Land Reclamation in Turkana County Government. 

She hails from the Lokichar Oil wells region in Kapese, Turkana South sub-county.

She leads a women's caucus in Turkana and is nicknamed the “daughter of Raila.”

Moe negotiated for Local Content Bill, which gave Turkana a share of oil proceeds.

The CS nominee has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Sciences (Social Work) from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA).

She has completed a Masters Degree in Governance and Ethics and is awaiting graduation.

Moe undertook various certifications, including the County Induction Course at Kenya School of Government and Corporate Governance Course.

She also has training on Audit Committees from KCA University, a Course for Community-based development by AMREF Kenya and Training in Methodologies for Conducting Baseline Assessment Surveys for Food Security and Nutrition Improvement Project Turkana.

Should Parliament approve her nomination, Moe will replace Peninah Malonza, who was dismissed from the previous Cabinet.

She will be the first woman from Turkana to be appointed as Cabinet Secretary.

Her husband, Peter Moe, lauded President Ruto for giving Turkana the slot to serve the country.

Moe said he was happy about the nomination and believes that the nominee is capable to the task.

“I am happy that President Ruto and Raila saw the potential in her, that have been also supporting to build on. Beatrice is equal to the task, and I believed she will deliver to Kenyans beyond expectations,” Moe said.