Speaking when he addressed the media at State House Nairobi, Kenyatta explained that the list could not be released on Wednesday night as promised due to unforeseen delays.
“Our request is that you allow us a little more time. We will work through the night if necessary and you can leave your items right where they are .Tomorrow by latest 9am, we will have a very comprehensive list for you of men and women who will oversee the Jubilee agenda over the next five years,” he pleaded.
The media had been instructed to set up their equipment for a briefing at 5.30pm, which was then pushed to 6.15pm and eventually 7.20pm, which turned out never to be.
Kenyatta explained that the process of coming up with a list was taking a lot of time due to the aspiration of ensuring the people nominated have the ability to deliver the agenda set by his government.
“We continue to interview these individuals. It is important that the list presented to Parliament includes individuals of the highest calibre. Discussions with potential nominees will go on throughout the night.”
He also attributed the delay to a visit by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn who was at State House earlier in the day.
“As you know, today we had a visitor and our consultations took longer than expected. Therefore were not able to begin the work that we have been undertaking until late. And it looks as if we will need to continue for a while longer, because we have quite few people who we have to talk with in the spirit I mentioned yesterday,” he asserted.
His deputy William Ruto urged for patience as their government was keen to ensure only individuals capable of fulfilling their manifesto are nominated.
On Tuesday, Kenyatta picked diplomat Amina Mohamed as the next Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Dr Fred Okengo as Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communication and Technology, Henry Rotich for the National Treasury, while NIC Bank Group Managing Director James Wainaina Macharia was given the Ministry of Health.
The names will be forwarded to Parliament for approval.