Ex-MPs Gumbo, Mishra land new jobs as President Ruto makes appointments to parastatals

President William Ruto has given two former Members of Parliament a political lifeline after they were appointed to chair various boards of parastatals.

Former Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo and former Kesses lawmaker Mr Swarup Ranjan Mishra are the latest beneficiaries of the appointments in President Ruto’s administration.

Mr Gumbo was appointed the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Kenya Sugar Board, for a period of three years, with effect from the November 22, 2024 while Mr Mishra was picked to chair the Board of Directors of the Kenya Biovax Institute Limited for the same period.

Retired General Robert Kibochi was also among the beneficiaries of the latest appointments after he was selected to Chair the Board of Directors of Mwai Kibaki Referral Hospital for a term of three years.

The announcements were among many made through a Kenya Gazette Notice Number 203 dated November 22, 2024.

General Kibochi is the former Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces who retired on April 28, 2023.

Mr Gumbo unsuccessfully contested for the Siaya Governorship in 2017 and 2022 but lost on both occasions placing him in the cold for over a decade.

Mr Ruto would then give him a lease of life when he was appointed Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Roads and Transport, before the courts put a break on the move terming the CAS position unconstitutional.

And when he was gazetted as the Chair of the sugar board on Friday evening, social media users once again revived his trending video where he stole the show shaking the president’s palms and bowed to a 90-degree position to express his gratitude to the president after taking his oath of office.

His appointment comes at a time when the president has assented to the Sugar Act 2024, which established the Board which will be headed by Mr Gumbo.

The board will regulate and manage the sugar industry which used to be handled by the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA).

When the Nation contacted him, he expressed gratitude to God and the president for giving him the chance to serve in that capacity.

“I want to thank the president for having faith in me. I will do my best to make the sugar sector to be the biggest contributor to Kenya's economy,” said Mr Gumbo.

Mr Mishra will chair Biovax, a state-owned organisation that was incorporated in 2021 to manufacture, package and commercialize vaccines and other health products and technologies.

He replaced Mr Mugo Kibati who held the position.

Mr Mishra has been in the political cold after he lost his Kesses parliamentary seat in 2022.

His loss was attributed to his move to align himself with the opposition leader and contesting as an Independent candidate in the 2022 elections in a region that was overwhelmingly supporting Dr Ruto.

On May 17, 2023, he officially joined the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in a bid to rescue his political career.

He has also been facing a lot of problems with his multi-billion-shilling Mediheal Group of Hospitals hitting turbulence and auctioneers on his neck ready to seize various pieces of Mishra’s property due to unpaid debts.

Mr Mishra was recently spotted in Kisumu in the company of Azimio Leader Raila Odinga, in what many viewed as trying to find his way into the hearts of Dr Ruto through the opposition leader.

If it is the case, it appears to have worked as he has landed a plum position in the Kenya Kwanza government.