By Urban Shihemi, November 12, 2025

Following the disbandment of the five-member selection panel responsible for nominating Waqf Commission members,  Attorney General Dorcas Oduor has invited key leaders from the Muslim  Organizations for a stakeholders meeting to deliberate on the appointment of members of the Selection panel.  

In a letter addressed to chairpersons of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM), Jamia Mosque Committee, National Muslim Leaders Forum (NAMLEF), the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK), and the Chief Kadhi and copied to the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, as well as the Solicitor General, Shadrack Mose, AG has invited the Muslim leaders for consultative meeting on Monday, November 17, 2025.

“In fulfillment of this statutory obligation and following the de-gazzetement of the previous selection panel due to challenges encountered in the advancement of its mandate, you are hereby invited to attend a consultative meeting on Monday, November 17,” read the letter dated November 11.

“Your participation and valued contribution will be instrumental in ensuring that the process of establishing the selection panel reflects both the spirit and letter of the law and upholds the principle of integrity, inclusivity, and fidelity to Sharia,” the AG said in a letter.

The meeting will discuss modalities and guiding principles for the constitution of a new selection panel.

The revocation of the previous committee was made by the Attorney General through a gazette notice dated October 24, 2025. The members of the committee were Sheikh Ibrahim Lethome Asmani, Jawahir Keinan Hassan, Al-Hajji Hassan ole Naado, Sheikh Abdalla Ibrahim Ateka, and Sumayya Hassan.

According to the Wakf Act 2023, the Attorney General is mandated to consult key Islamic leaders knowledgeable in shariah and relevant Islamic organizations prior to the appointment of members of the Selection Panel.

The Wakf Commission is a key institution in managing and safeguarding wakf properties, which include religious endowments and charitable trusts established for the benefit of Muslim communities. It is meant to ensure the proper administration of the properties is in accordance with Islamic principles.

The absence of commissioners at the Waqf Commission has greatly affected major operations at the critical institution, charged with administration of waqf properties in the Muslim community.

 For the last six years, the Waqf Commission of Kenya has been without commissioners. The term of the former commissioners expired in 2019, leaving the Commission without appointed commissioners for the past three years. Also the term of the Chief Executive Officer and secretary of the commission expired on March 2021.