Kenya -President Ruto Presides Over Swearing In Of 19 Cabinet Secretaries

By Lisbeth Micheni, Kenya

President William Ruto has presided over the swearing in of nineteen Cabinet Secretaries (CS) at the State House in Nairobi on Thursday.

The swearing-in followed the approval by the National Assembly and the subsequent gazettement of their appointments on Wednesday.

The Interior CS Kithure Kindiki was the first to take the oath of office, followed by Defence CS Soipan Tuya, then John Mbadi (National Treasury), Justin Muturi (Public Service) and Aden Duale (Environment, Climate Change and Forestry).

Others who took the oath of office included Lands CS Alice Wahome, Julius Ogamba (Education), Davis Chirchir (Transport), Rebecca Miano (Tourism and Wildlife), Hassan Joho (Mining), Alfred Mutua (Labor), Eric Muuga (Water), Salim Mvurya (Investment, Trade, and Industry), Debra Barasa (Health), Kipchumba Murkomen (Youth Affairs and Sports), Andrew Karanja (Agriculture), Salim Mvurya (Trade), Julius Ogamba (Education) and Margaret Nyambura (ICT).

On Wednesday, the National Assembly Committee on Appointments rejected the nomination of Stella Soi Lang’at to the Cabinet.

The committee stated that Soi did not demonstrate an adequate understanding of the “gender docket”, and her experience in public service had been marked by frequent job transitions.

The Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah had said: “This lady (Stella Soi) is a career civil servant with extensive experience in public service. However, she did not demonstrate adequate understanding of the docket to which she had been nominated, and the committee found her unsuitable for appointment to that docket,”

President Ruto dismissed his previous cabinet on 11th July  to pave the way for a ‘broad-based government.’ This move followed weeks of anti-government protests.

Surprisingly, he unveiled 10 of his former Cabinet Secretaries in his new Cabinet and ceded four cabinet slots to the Opposition to win their support.