President William Ruto reshuffled his Cabinet on Thursday, December 19, nominating former allies of ex-President Uhuru Kenyatta, including Mutahi Kagwe, Lee Kinyanjui, and William Kabogo, to key positions.
In a statement issued by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, President Ruto appointed Kagwe as the new Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Kabogo as the Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications, and Digital Economy.
Former Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui was nominated as the Cabinet Secretary for Trade. These appointments now require parliamentary vetting before the formal confirmation of their roles.
In the same reshuffle, President Ruto moved Kipchumba Murkomen, a close ally, from the Sports docket to the influential position of Interior Cabinet Secretary. Salim Mvurya, the current Trade CS, has been reassigned to Youth Affairs, Creative Economy, and Sports, replacing Murkomen.
In another shift, President Ruto dropped former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Dr. Andrew Karanja and ICT Cabinet Secretary Dr. Margaret Nyambura from the Cabinet but offered them ambassadorial roles. Dr. Karanja has been nominated as Kenya’s ambassador to Brazil, while Dr. Nyambura is set to become the ambassador to Ghana, pending parliamentary approval.
Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba also received a new nomination, being appointed as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON). Ambassador Dorothy Angote has been nominated as Kenya’s High Commissioner to Zimbabwe.
The reshuffle continued with the appointment of former Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi as chairperson of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) board and former Senate Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura as chairperson of the board of Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral, and Research Hospital.
Anthony Mwaura, the current KRA board chair, was reassigned to lead the Kenya Rural Roads Authority.
“These nominations reflect the government’s ongoing commitment to service in its foremost policy organs, the Cabinet, and Foreign Service,” said Felix Koskei.
