On the morning of March 20, Sports Principal Secretary Peter Tum joined President William Ruto in flagging off competitors in the World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally outside City Hall in Nairobi’s Central Business District.
Unbeknownst to many, Tum was performing his final official duty as Sports PS. Later that day, President Ruto reshuffled his Cabinet, replacing Tum with Elijah Mwangi, who had been the PS for State Department for Mining.
In the first 1,000 days of President Ruto’s administration, three Cabinet Secretaries and three PSs have served at the Ministry of Sports.
Ababu Namwamba served as CS from October 28, 2022 to July 11, 2024), and was replaced by Kipchumba Murkomen who served from August 8, 2024 to December 19, last. He was replaced by the current CS Salim Mvurya.
The PSs who have served are Jonathan Mueke (from December 2, 2022 to May 16, 2023), Tum (May 16, 2023 to April 2, 2025), and now, Mwangi.
Ruto@1,000: Hits and misses in the sporting scene
The high turnover has raised concern among sports stakeholders over lack of continuity and stability in the ministry at a time when Kenya is preparing to host major sports events most significantly the delayed 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan) from August 2 to 30, 2025, and the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), jointly with Uganda and Tanzania.
Governance expert, Auscar Wambiya says high turnover of top officials at the sports ministry is detrimental to the sector as it leads to policy inconsistency, weakens Kenya’s ties with global sports bodies, and erodes public trust.
“Frequent changes in the ministry’s top leadership delays crucial projects that are being undertaken by the country,” Wambiya told Nation Sport.
“The instability hampers the establishment of a stable regulatory framework which is essential for transparency and accountability. It also affects Kenya’s standing at international sporting bodies like Fifa and World Athletics.
Stability in the Ministry of Sports is crucial for Kenya given its reliance on international competitions for athletes’ exposure. Due to the frequent changes, Kenya also sees little progress despite the country’s rich sporting talent,” he continued.
Veteran sports administrator Michael ‘Tank’ Otieno said: “There are things that Namwamba had put in place at the sports ministry, then Murkomen came in and started his own pathway. Now we are wondering whether the new person (Mvurya) will come up with new policies,” Otieno, who holds a Phd in Education (Physical Education and Sports) from the University of Nairobi, said.
“We are hugely disappointed at how the government is handling the sports docket. They do not see it as serious business that deserves careful thinking. That is why anyone is thrown in there,” said Otieno, a former Kenya Shujaa and Kenya Simbas coach.
The Government’s grassroots talent development programme dubbed ‘Talanta Hela”, and the Sh1.6 billion broadcast deal between Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) and Kenya Broadcasting Corporation are some of the initiatives that were pushed by Namwamba only to given little attention by Murkomen.
The review of the Sports Act 2013 and the construction of the first 30 Constituency Sports Academies has also been delayed.
Started under Namwamba, Talanta Hela project was aimed at revitalising Kenya’s creative and sports industry by identifying, recruiting, nurturing, and monetising sports talents.
In the sports category, talented athletes would be invited for training at one of the government academies.
The initiative, which was rolled out in partnership with the Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS), began with a youth football tournament dubbed Talanta Hela Football for both boys and girls between the ages of 15 and 19.
It culminated in a national final at Nyayo National Stadium on December 12, 2023, with President Ruto in attendance.
Thereafter, two all-star teams of boys and girls were selected for a two-week, government-sponsored training camp in Tarragona, Spain, in March 2023.
After the inaugural Talanta Hela Football tournament and the training camp in Tarragona, KAS Chief Executive Officer Doreen Odhiambo announced plans to expand the programme to include basketball.
But after taking over as Sports CS, Murkomen stopped KAS from organising the tournament.
“The national tournament we held last year, though beneficial, can now be organised by sponsors, county governments, and federations. We want the Kenya Academy of Sport to concentrate on supporting young talents in primary and secondary schools,” Murkomen told journalists in October last year.
Since then, there has been no information about the tournament, which was heavily publicised by the Ministry of Sports, and which had cost Sh532 million by the time it was terminated.
While cancelling the seven-year-broadcast deal between FKF-PL and KBC which was another initiative by Namwamba, Murkomen said it was shrouded in secrecy.
“There is no clarity on accountability on that deal and if it was done so that we can support KBC to be on its feet, then let us say so and let the government support KBC for what it is,” Murkomen said when he appeared on NTV’s Monday sports night show SportOn! on December 9 last year.
Under Namwamba, construction of sports academies was scheduled to start in 30 counties in April last year.
But delays ensued when Murkomen took over and said the ministry needed to re-look the designs, and to re-advertise the tenders.
Murkomen left office soon after establishing the Organising Committee and Secretariat for Gender Protection and Implementation Committee that was charged with implementing recommendations of a report on gender welfare and equity in sports submitted to the ministry by the task force on Gender Welfare in Sports on January 19, 2022.
The committee appears moribund with no work seen to be done thanks to the frequent changes at the ministry that has slowed down its delivery of service.
