Since dissolving his Cabinet on July 11 following weeks of deadly anti-government rallies, President William Ruto has revealed his second round of nominees for Cabinet Secretaries.
In a speech on Wednesday at State House in Nairobi, the President declared Kipchumba Murkomen the CS nominee for Youth Affairs, Sports, and Creative Economy. Murkomen, who served as the transport minister in the previous Cabinet, was given the Youth docket, which Ababu Namwamba had previously held. As for the ministries of trade and investments, Salim Mvurya, the former head of the mining ministry, has been nominated, and John Mbadi, the chairman of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and a nominated MP has been nominated to head the Treasury ministry.
Rebecca Miano has been reassigned to the Tourism docket. Last week, Ruto had reappointed Miano as Attorney-General nominee but later withdrew her name.
Opiyo Wandayi, the minority leader in the national assembly, has been nominated to the Energy and Petroleum Ministry, and Hassan Joho, a former governor of Mombasa, has been nominated to the Mining CS position.
Alfred Mutua, a former Cabinet member in charge of tourism, also reappears in the Labour and Social Protection portfolio, while Wycliffe Oparanya is assigned to the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSME Development.
Stella Lagat is on the Gender, Culture, Arts, and Heritage docket, while Justin Muturi, the former Attorney General, has been chosen to head the Public Service ministry.
Ruto promised to make the remaining nominations public “shortly” and stated he was still working on them.
Miano’s name was left off of the list that was sent this week to the National Assembly for review. In the new arrangements, Aden Duale—who had previously been reappointed to lead the Defense ministry—was replaced with Soipan Tuya, the nominee for Environment and Climate Change.
The most recent candidates join Duale, Tuya, and their counterparts that President Ruto revealed last Friday: Juliaus Ogamba (Education), Andrew Karanja (Agriculture), Davis Chirchir (Roads and Transport), Kithure Kindiki (Interior), Alice Wahome (Lands), Eric Muriithi Muuga (Water), and Margaret Ndung’u (ICT).
All nominees for the Cabinet, including those who are reappointed, would go through screening, according to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula.
