State House: No official has been sacked

The government on Thursday said no official was sacked even as questions emerged over a ''bloated executive'' following Wednesday's changes which saw eight Chief Administrative Secretaries appointed to the top job which activists say has no clear role.

State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena-Mararo said President Uhuru Kenyatta had only added the eight to the list of the already existing CASs, giving a sigh of relief to many who thought they had been axed.

“Nobody has been sacked,” Ms Dena-Mararo told the Nation. “If anyone had been sacked, there would have been communication to that effect.”

On Wednesday, President Kenyatta appointed CASs David Osiany (Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development), Eric Simiyu Wafukho (National Treasury and Planning), Jackson Musyoka Kalla (Labour), Zachary Ayieko (Energy), Alex Mburi Mwiru (Lands and Physical Planning), Lawrence Angolo (Agriculture), Prof Japheth Ntiba Micheni (State Law Office and Department), and Dr Sara Ruto (Education).

In the changes, former West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin was moved to the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage, replacing Mr Hassan Noor Hassan, who was re-deployed to the Ministry of Education.

Mr Gideon Mung’aro was moved from Lands to the Devolution Ministry in a similar capacity while Lina Jebii Kilimo was moved to the Ministry of Public Service and Gender from that of Agriculture.

“Some ministries have two CASs, and those not mentioned still hold their positions. They have not been re-appointed, neither have they been reassigned. Their positions still stay. All are still working,” Ms Dena-Mararo said.

President Kenyatta created the CAS post in 2018, granting 2017 poll losers a fresh lifeline.

Unlike Cabinet positions which are spelt out in the Constitution as a maximum of 22, the new CAS post, which acts like an assistant minister and ranks below the Cabinet minister, but above the principal secretary, President Kenyatta has a wiggle room given the lack of an upper limit in the number of people he can appoint.

Another plus is in the fact that CASs do not need parliamentary approval, a process that can often be a stumbling block to presidential appointees.

President Kenyatta has defended the creation of the post, with the Public Service Commission saying the Head of State has a right “to establish any office in the public service. It does not say what position or what job group that covers.”

“The chief administrative secretary will broadly be responsible for helping the Cabinet secretary to coordinate the running of the ministry,” President Kenyatta had said of the position when he created it in January 2018.

The Prof Yash Pal Ghai-led Katiba Institute had questioned the need for the CAS post, and how the position was created.

“Please provide us with the general job description of the CAS, a copy of the communication by way of advertisement on the availability of the post and the list of persons who applied for the job,” Prof Ghai said in a 2018 letter to the PSC.

On Thursday, Labour CAS Patrick Ntutu, one of those feared to have been edged out, confirmed that he was still in office.

“I wish to clarify that the President has added an additional CAS position to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. That being the change, my assignment is to the Special Protection department in the same portfolio as CAS,” Mr Ntutu, a former Narok West MP now allied to Dr Ruto in his quest to be Narok governor in 2022, said.

While arguing that the Head of State had the right to re-organise his government, political analyst Dimas Mokua warned that the appointments, just 17 months to the end of President Kenyatta’s term, might give an undue advantage to those appointed in the 2022 poll.

“There is a need to have clarity on the role of the CAS because they play in a space occupied by powerful roles in the name of CSs and PSs. As it is, the reporting lines and functions are blurred. CASs may end up just reading newspapers and attending political rallies,” Mr Mokua said, adding that the Head of State should pay attention to meritocracy, national and public interest in the appointments to ensure returns on investment.

Belgut MP Nelson Koech, a Ruto ally, urged new appointees to give their best in their new postings, saying no government job was inferior to the other.

“It is the President's prerogative to re-arrange government as and when he deems it fit.

''Whether he does it once in five years or every three months, all are rightfully within the Head of State's mandate,” said Mr Koech.