Ruto fires KICC board chairman Irungu Nyakera
Irungu Nyakera, who has been replaced by Samuel Waweru Mwangi as KICC board chairperson.
President William Ruto has fired Kenya International Convention Centre (KICC) board chairman Irungu Nyakera and replaced him with Samuel Waweru Mwangi with immediate effect.
In a special gazette notice dated April 1, 2025, the Head of State announced that Mr Mwangi would head the KICC board for three years and that "the appointment of Irungu Nyakera is revoked".
Mr Nyakera, who is one of the few leaders from Mount Kenya not accompanying President Ruto on his tour of central Kenya, downplayed down his dismissal.
“I feel special to be fired through a special issue (of the gazette notice). They could not wait for Friday,” he said on Wednesday.
A few minutes later, on a phone call with the Nation, Mr Nyakera said that he had expected to read about his dismissal in the usual weekly gazette, which is published every Friday.
“I was waiting for it to happen on Friday as is the custom. Unless yours (a dismissal) is special, that is when you will be fired any other day that is not Friday. It is funny my firing happened on April Fool’s Day. It appears that my saying I will not be available for the presidential tour because I am pursuing my Masters at Oxford largely contributed to what has happened,” he said.
Despite his dismissal, Mr Nyakera said his message remained clear -- the focus should be on development, not politics.
He added that his dismissal was not due to incompetence, saying he had done a good job at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency before being appointed chairperson of KICC.
“We found KICC grounded, but now everyone agrees that KICC is moving. I, just like every Kenyan, want our questions to be answered. It cannot be that when you ask hard questions you are an enemy of the State,” he said.
Mr Nyakera, a former friend of President Ruto, was the leader of the Farmers Party until February 2025 when the leadership went to former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu, who is now serving a 12-year jail term for corruption.
In 2022, Mr Nyakera contested the Murang'a governorship but was beaten by Irungu Kang'ata, who rode on the then popularity of Dr Ruto's United Democratic Alliance.
To meet the needs of people at the grassroots, he said he and his team would work to rebuild the Farmers' Party to "ensure that all Kenyans keen on politics have a platform to air their voices".
Asked what would happen to the party's leadership in light of Mr Waititu's fate, Mr Nyakera said they would hold a meeting of the party's top leadership and make a decision on their next steps.
Just last weekend, Mr Nyakera urged Central Kenya to put development before politics during Dr Ruto's tour.
“History has taught us harsh lessons. When Mzee Jomo Kenyatta visited Kisumu with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and was received with hostility, development in that region came to a halt for decades,” Irungu said.
“Similarly, in President Uhuru’s final term, Mt Kenya suffered because we allowed politics to override cooperation and watched development bypass us.”
He urged the people of the mountain to remain focused on the development agenda because that is what they voted for.
“In the last election, Mt Kenya voted for development and development, as we all know, comes through the Office of the President. When he visits next week, let our focus be on that development - not on the politics,” he said.
He then expressed regret that he would not be joining the tour, saying that he was still studying at Oxford University in the UK, but reiterated his support for Ruto’s visit and encouraged residents to focus on discussions on development.
This is President Ruto’s first visit to Central Kenya counties since his last visit in August 2024. It will be a five-day working tour ending Saturday.