The outgoing Clerk of the National Assembly Mr. Michael Sialai has officially handed over to his successor, Acting Clerk Ms. Serah Kioko. The handover ceremony took place this morning during a National Assembly Board of Management meeting. This follows Ms. Kioko’s appointment by the Parliamentary Service Commission to assume the roles of the Clerk of the National Assembly in acting capacity in place of Mr. Sialai whose tour of duty ends on July 31, upon retirement.

Speaking during the ceremony, Mr. Sialai thanked the board for their support that has seen the National Assembly make great strides in professionalizing and mainstreaming the Service the Service to respond better to Members needs. 

“ I wish to sincerely thank you for your support during my tenure as Clerk. Together we have managed to do a lot and am happy that we have managed to mainstream our services to respond to the needs of our Members and the citizenry in general”, he noted.

On their part, the National Assembly Board lauded Mr. Sialai for his leaving a mark of legacy during his tour of duty. They singled out the structuring of directorates and department in the National Assembly which has created opportunities for upward mobility of staff hence motivating them, and the alignment of skills to match tasks to respond better to the execution of the mandate of the National Assembly. They wished him well in his next assignment but urged him to become an ambassador of the National Assembly of Kenya despite his exit from the institution. 

Mr. Sialai who is set to join Foreign Service as Kenya’s High Commissioner to Namibia later next month, was first appointed as a First Clerk Assistant in the National Assembly in 1996 and rose through the ranks to the position of Deputy Clerk. He was appointed as the Clerk of the National Assembly in 2017, a position he held until this nomination.

Before her appointment, Ms. Kioko has been serving as the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly overseeing and supervising chamber duties and assisting the Clerk in offering advisory to the Speaker. She boasts of a 28-year long service as a Parliamentary Officer. 

Present during the handover ceremony were members of the National Assembly Service Board; the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly Mr. Jeremiah Ndombi; Directors and representatives from the Directorates of Legal Services, Departmental Committees, Speaker’s Office, Audit, Appropriations and Other Select Committees, Legislative and Procedural Services, Serjeant at Arms, Finance, Litigation and Compliance and the Chief Procurement Officer.