President William Ruto on Wednesday made his first changes in his Cabinet, effectively adding more powers to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, and moving Moses Kuria and Alfred Mutua to less prestigious dockets.
Mudavadi bagged the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs docket, which sees Mutua move to Tourism and Wildlife.
Kuria, who has in the recent past been at loggerheads with different quarters, including within the Kenya Kwanza Administration, has been moved from the Trade and Investments ministry to the renamed Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management docket.
Kuria replaces Aisha Jumwa, who retains what has been renamed Ministry of Ministry of Gender, Culture, the Arts and Heritage, dockets drawn from the Ministry of Youth and Sports as well as Tourism.
Rebecca Miano, who was as the East African Community, ASALs and Regional Development ministry, replaces Kuria at the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry
Alice Wahome, who was at the Water, Sanitation and Irrigation ministry, now moves to the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Developments, replacing Zacharia Njeru who now moves to the Water, Sanitation and Irrigation dockect.
Peninah Malonza is the new Cabinest Secretary EAC, ASALs and Regional Development.
The President also reshuffled Principal Secretaries, where Julius Koror moves to (Water and Sanitation), Geoffrey Kaituko (Shipping and Maritime Affairs), Shadrack Mwadime (Labour and Skills Development), Paul Rono (Crop Development), Idris Dokota (Cabinet Affairs), Ann Wango’mbe (Gender and Affirmative Action), Veronica Nduva (Performance and Delivery Management), while Harsama Kello will move to ASAL and Regional Development.
Following the changes, Mudavadi emerges as the biggest winner with the more promiment Foreign Affairs docket, that offers him international networks and engagements.
While Mudavadi, a former Member of Parliament, minister and vice president and later deputy prime minister, takes over foreign affairs roles, it is not clear if he takes back the docket’s functions that had been handed to the Office of Deputy President.
Through a Note Verbale by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March to foreign mission in Kenya, it was communicated that Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua would approve any engagements by the missions that will require two or more ministries to engage.
“Requests of meetings of cross-cutting nature and that involve more than one ministry, it is advised that such requests should be made through the office of the deputy president for coordination purposes,” the letter said.
This risks causing friction between the two offices, given Mudavadi’s prominence in the coalition government.
It is also not clear where Mudavadi will operate from given his office as PCS is domiciled at the Railways Headquarters, while the MFA is based at the Old Treasury Building along Harambee Avenue.
CS Mutua moves to a less prominent Tourism and Wildlife docket compared to the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs ministry. He is accused of making some foreign policy blunders during his short stint at the ministry.
Kuria is another casualty, losing a docket he has in the past taken credit of formulating, including the name through a proposal to the President just after the elections.
The Trade docket had seen him gain local and international prominence in the last one year, emerging a strong player in the Kenya Kwanza Administration. His abrasiveness, however, saw him get into a collusion course with different players, with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai refusing to meet him in Nairobi.
The President consequently dropped him in his UNGA78 visit, was instead accompanied by Trade Adviser Aden Mohamed.
