Deputy President William Ruto’s influence in the Executive has been whittled down after President Uhuru Kenyatta’s allies took the lion’s share of high-flying State jobs, including in the Cabinet.
In what is likely to muddle Ruto’s 2022 presidential bid, an analysis of the 22-member Cabinet unveiled by Kenyatta on Friday indicates that the DP only managed to push through five of his men.
Read:
In contrast, Uhuru named about 15 of his allies to the Cabinet.
Unveiling the list after 58 days of anxiety, Ruto was conspicuously missing by Uhuru’s side unlike the Jubilee norm, although he was present at State House.
It was not immediately clear whether it was a sign of disgruntlement or political strategy.
When Uhuru unveiled a partial list on January 5, Ruto was also missing in action, but later played down any rift at the apex of the Jubilee administration.
In the new Cabinet list, Ruto lost the influential Agriculture ministry, which has been given an additional Irrigation portfolio and in total will now be shepherded by a record five Principal Secretaries.
The gigantic Agriculture ministry was handed over to Mwangi Kiunjuri, a close Uhuru ally who is also seen as his possible heir in Mount Kenya power matrix.
Overall, Kenyatta bagged all the powerful ministries, including the National Treasury, which now has an additional docket of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure as well as Interior and Coordination of the National Government.
Henry Rotich is the National Treasury and Planning CS, Transport and Infrastructure is headed by James Macharia, while Interior is led by the vocal Fred Matiang’i.
Apart from Industrialization, which is in the hands of Ruto’s man Adan Mohamed, the rest of the ministries charged with delivering the “Big Four” are in the hands of Uhuru’s men.
The Big Four, which involve a focus on food security, affordable housing, manufacturing and affordable healthcare is seen as a strategy to secure the President’s legacy.
Former TNA Secretary General Onyango Oloo, now Kisumu County Assembly Speaker, said Uhuru has finally managed to cage Ruto.
“For the first time, I think the President seems to be asserting himself beyond what Ruto, or anyone else, may have expected. Last time, I think the President was bullied into forming a government in which he did not even know some of his ministers,” Oloo told the Star yesterday.
“If Ruto did not like your face [in 2013], you had no chance in that government. As illegitimate as this government is, this time it is Uhuru’s.”
Ruto’s allies who were kicked out in the Cabinet purge are ex-Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett, his Labour counterpart Phyllis Kandie as well as Mining CS Dan Kazungu.
However, his allies in the fresh team are Farida Karoney of Lands, Simon Chelugui of Water and Sanitation, Rashid Mohammed of Sports and Heritage as well as Adan Mohamed of Industrialization and Enterprise Development.
Energy Minister Charles Keter, whose Ministry was also sliced to create a new Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, is alleged to have switched loyalty and is more or less in the Kenyatta axis.
Although thought to be in the Ruto camp, National Treasury CS Rotich, previously Head of Macroeconomics at the now-defunct Ministry of Finance, is said to be an Uhuru ally.
The two worked together when Uhuru was the Minister of Finance.
Yesterday, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale and a key Ruto ally did not respond to our queries.
However, Political Analyst Martin Andati says Ruto has retained most of his previous dockets.
"Ruto is just playing smart politics. He is avoiding going public because he had promised jobs to so many people. So he will easily claim as an excuse that even he was played," Andati told the Star.
Among Uhuru nominees in Cabinet are Margaret Kobia of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, Monica Juma of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Sicily Kariuki of Health and Amina Mohamed of Education.
Others are John Munyes (Petroleum and Mining), Raychelle Omamo (Defence), Keriako Tobiko (Environment and Forestry), Joseph Mucheru (ICT), Najib Balala (Tourism and Wildlife), Raphael Tuju (CS without portfolio) and Eugene Wamalwa (Devolution).
Also read:
Former Meru Governor Peter Munya, a known critic of the DP, and ex-Marsabit Governor Ukur Yattani are said to be Kanu nominees. Munya was given the East African Community and Northern Corridor Development docket, while Yattani was nominated to the Labour and Social Protection docket.
But when the reports of cracks began after the first batch of Cabinet nominees was named, Ruto was quick at dismissing them.
He said Uhuru must be given the space to form his Cabinet that would deliver on the Jubilee Manifesto.
“Kenyans, more so Jubilee, should avoid useless political debates about positions, including 2022, and focus single-mindedly on delivering our manifesto voted for by the people while allowing the President the space to perform his constitutional duty to assemble the team for us,” Ruto fired back.
Then, State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu dismissed the reports as rumours.
“All is well between the President and Deputy President. Those reports [about the split] are rumours and we don’t comment on them,” he said.
In the new lineup, Uhuru remodeled ministries and sacked several Principal Secretaries, some of whose departments became redundant.
For instance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was given back the International Trade docket, which was taken away from Industrialization, the Ministry of Water was added Sanitation but lost Irrigation.
The Ministry of Devolution now under Eugene lost the Planning docket, but was given the Arid and Semi-arid Areas.
Among sacked PS are Wilson Irungu Nyakera (Planning and Statistics),
John Mosonik (Infrastructure) and
Ali Noor Ismail (Cooperatives).