President William Ruto is on the spot for hiring a ballooning team of advisers despite promising to reduce them by half last year after Gen Z protests called out waste in government.
The latest to join the team is Prof Makau Mutua, who was on Wednesday appointed senior adviser on constitutional affairs in the Office of the President.
While announcing the appointment, the President said Prof Mutua is joining a dynamic team of public servants in implementating Kenya Kwanza's Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
Mutua, an insider in Raila Odinga’s team, had previously vowed never to work with Ruto.
He now says he is grateful to the President for appointing him to the post and promised to serve the President with diligence.
Documents tabled in Parliament in May last year showed the President's advisers had been allocated Sh1.1 billion, fuelling public anger.
Instead of reducing as promised, they have since increased and diversified into three notable categories: Cabinet-level advisers, Council of Economic Advisers and special advisers.
Prior to Mutua’s appointment, the President named Jaoko Odinga, son of Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga, as special adviser on economic empowerment and sustainable livelihoods.
Jaoko is also the nephew of ODM leader Raila Odinga.
In March, the President dropped Edward Kisiangani as ICT Principal Secretary and named him senior adviser in the President’s Economic Council.
The CEA is comprised of Dr David Ndii (chairman), Mohammed Hassan, Dr Nancy Laibuni, Dr Augustine Cheruiyot, Prof Vincent Machuki, Joe Ager and Dr Sylvester Kasuku.
Dr Kamau Thugge, who was part of the team, has since been elevated to Central Bank Governor.
Dr Aden Mohammed is now the chief of strategy execution, while Dr Adams Oloo resigned to join the IEBC selection panel.
Others who have been appointed as advisers include former Public Service CS Moses Kuria, who was in August appointed senior adviser in the CEA, and former Treasury CS in the Uhuru Administration Henry Rotich, the senior adviser on fiscal affairs and budget policy in the Office of President.
Former Energy CS Charles Keter is also serving as special adviser on the Great Lakes Region.
Others are Prof Abdi Guliye (animal production), Dr Dominic Menjo (food security), Henry Kinyua (crops/value chains) and Steven Otieno (cooperatives).
This is in addition to the Cabinet-level advisers named along with the initial Cabinet. They include Monica Juma (national security) and Harriette Chiggai (gender and women's rights).
Constitutional lawyer Bobby Mkangi, who served in the Committee of Experts behind the 2010 Constitution, termed the appointments ill-advised, unconstitutional and illogical.
"There is a way Kenyans wanted the national executive structured,” he said.
“That's why the Cabinet is lean, pointing to the need for efficiency in how the national government should run.”
While the President has the powers to establish other administration offices, he said, he needs to exercise them with the advice of the Public Service Commission.
"However, we are seeing these appointments without any public participation, vetting and information on the role and value they are adding. This goes against the grain of the Constitution," Mkangi said.
The appointments also go against the President's own call for efficiency and austerity measures, and only serve political expediency, the lawyer said.
Kenyans need to know how much the advisers are being paid at a time young Kenyans cannot secure jobs due to the poor economy, he said.
Nyandarua Senator John Methu questioned the value of the appointments and the willingness of the President to be advised.
He said the challenges the country faces, such as “runaway corruption, extrajudicial killings, unbearable taxes, unabated appetite for public land and lies of monumental magnitude” need no advice to solve.
"Even if you get advice from Nelson Mandela, it boils down to the President. Is he willing?" he asked.
Kenya is trying to achieve a wage-bill-to-revenue ratio of 35 per cent by 2028.
To this end, the Third National Wage Bill Conference (2024) sought to ensure affordability, fiscal sustainability, right composition and skills.
Among the resolutions made was for public service institutions to review and rationalise their staff establishments.
Other than straining the wage bill, the appointments of advisers have raised issues of duplications of roles.
For instance, Mutua’s role on constitutional advice raises duplication concerns regarding the Attorney General, the Solicitor General and the newly created State Department for Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
The National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee last month raised concerns over the potential for a role overlap between the PS for Justice, Human Rights and Constitutional Affairs and the Solicitor General due to unclear distinctions.
“There is a need to streamline the functions of the Principal Secretary and those of the Solicitor General to avoid disagreement and conflict of interest,” the committee said in its report.
![[PHOTOS] Ruto arrives in Migori for 3-day tour](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.radioafrica.digital%2Fimage%2F2025%2F05%2Fa51aabd7-691d-4bc1-92de-3793cbe592a3.JPG&w=3840&q=100)
