NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 18 – Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has questioned the prolonged delay in appointing a substantive Director General at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), saying the institution has operated under acting leadership since 2022.In a statement, Omtatah said he had formally sought a response from the Senate Committee on Health over what he termed an unacceptable leadership vacuum at one of the country’s premier medical research institutions.“KEMRI has operated without a substantive Director General since 2022. For more than three years, the institution has relied on acting appointments. That is unacceptable for one of Kenya’s most important public research institutions,” he said.The senator wants the committee to disclose who has served as Acting Director General since 2022, whether those individuals qualified for substantive appointment, and the legal basis for the repeated acting appointments.He also demanded an explanation from the KEMRI Board on why it has yet to recruit a substantive Director General and the measures being taken to conclude the recruitment process.Omtatah argued that institutions charged with safeguarding public health and advancing medical research require stable leadership to effectively discharge their mandate.