President William Ruto’s latest reshuffling of the Cabinet – with three nominees waiting to be vetted by the National Assembly – has turned the spotlight on instability in ministries that have had a high leadership turnover.
At the end of the vetting and reassignments announced Dr Ruto, the Ministries of Agriculture, Sports and ICT would have been led by three individuals while the Trade docket is preparing to welcome the fourth Cabinet Secretary in just over two years.
Then, there are the Water, Tourism and East African Community (EAC) Affairs dockets that have remained untouched this time but have also had three CSs. The July 2024 reshuffle saw Mr Eric Mugaa and Ms Beatrice Askul named Water and EAC Cabinet Secretaries respectively.
In the October 2023 reshuffle, Ms Alice Wahome – a former Kandara MP – swapped positions with Mr Zachary Njeru of the Ministry of Lands.
Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS Alfred Mutua was redeployed to Tourism to replace Ms Peninah Malonza who was moved to the Ministry of EAC Affairs.
In the reshuffle announced on Thursday, Mr Kipchumba Murkomen , an ally of the President, was named Interior CS, handing over the Sports docket to Mr Salim Mvurya.
Mr Murkomen takes the powerful position left vacant after the appointment of Prof Kithure Kindiki as the Deputy President following the impeachment of Mr Rigathi Gachagua in October.
Mr Mvurya has been Trade CS after his appointment in the reconstituted broad-based government in July following the youth-led protests against the Finance Bill, 2024.
Before President Ruto dissolved the Cabinet, the former Kwale governor was the Mining and Blue Economy minister.
Between September 2022 and July 11, 2024 when Dr Ruto dismissed his Cabinet to pave the way for the formation of a “broad-based government” Mr Ababu Namwamba headed the Sports Ministry.
The President at the time said he acted after an extensive appraisal of the Cabinet. The latest changes in the ministry come when Kenya is racing against time to have its stadiums and other facilities ready to co-host the football African Nations Championship – known by the acronym CHAN – that involves players based on the continent.
Despite a recent visit by Confederation of African Football officials, none of the stadiums is ready to host the February tournament, which is to be co-hosted with Uganda and Tanzania. East Africa is also preparing to host the African Cup of Nations tournament in 2027.
Then there is Mr Eliud Owalo, now Deputy Chief of Staff in the President’s Office. Until July, he was the ICT and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary.
He was replaced by Dr Margaret Nyambura Ndung’u, a professional with experience in digital technology and systems integration. She led the ministry for about four months before being dropped on Thursday and being named Kenya’s High Commissioner to Ghana.
Dr Andrew Karanja, an economist with more than 36 years of experience in the public sector, was named Kenya’s ambassador to Brazil after his removal from Kilimo House. He is to be replaced by Mr Mutahi Kagwe , who was President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Health CS and also served in Mwai Kibaki’s administration.
At the formation of the Kenya Kwanza administration, the Agriculture Ministry was led by former Meru Senator Mithika Linturi, whose tenure was marred with scandals. He was eventually dropped in the July 2024 Cabinet dissolution.
With the Ministry of Agriculture battling questions on mass vaccination of livestock in January, President Ruto hopes to tap the services of Mr Kagwe, who spearheaded the war on Covid-19.
Mr Kuria was moved from the Trade Ministry to Public Service in October 2023. He was replaced by Ms Rebecca Miano, who would later be nominated as Attorney-General in July 2024. Even before the vetting for AG, she was made Tourism CS.
The four changes in the Trade docket since Dr Ruto took office in 2022 raise questions on how every new CS is expected to lead the often complex and drawn-out negotiations.
Apart from regional deals, Kenya is in the middle of bilateral talks with the US that started during President Donald Trump’s first term but continued in a different direction as the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) when Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
Should Mr Kinyanjui be confirmed as the fourth occupant of the seat, a key task would be to convince the new Trump administration to conclude the STIP negotiations.
Ms Diana Gichengo – a governance expert and rights lawyer who heads the Institute for Social Accountability – says key ministries like Trade have technocrats to handle most of the issues, but the many changes are disruptive.
“Frequent Cabinet changes could affect the performance of the ministry, but one would argue that the Principal Secretary has remained the same,” said Ms Gichengo, adding that the regular reshuffles could be a sign of bigger problems.
The Trade Ministry plays an important role in enabling a legal and regulatory environment, effective enforcement of standards and consumer protection.
It is also key in promoting digital trade, partnerships with stakeholders and enhanced institutional capacity to improve services.
While it is the prerogative of the President to appoint whoever he wants to the Cabinet, governance expert Javas Bigambo says the changes raise questions on the process, which ultimately involves the National Assembly.
He is not sure if those named and replaced in a short period were found to be unsuitable or were victims of political expediency.
“The message could be coded. While Kenya Kwanza coalition rode into office fighting ‘dynasties’, the same dynasty interests have been found necessary to quell political temperatures,” he said.
“There can never be a government of the so-called ‘hustlers’ alone without the ruling or upper class in society,” he said, referring to the nomination of people linked to former president Kenyatta.
