Labour Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani, 52, is the surprise pick for President Uhuru Kenyatta to take charge at the latest corruption crime scene in Kenyatta — the National Treasury — at least for the short term.
This follows the arrest and prosecution of immediate former CS Henry Rotich and his PS Kamau Thugge, among other officials, on Tuesday over the Mimwarere and Arror dams scandal, in which Sh19 billion is was lost.
Yattani was born in 1967 in Forole of North Horr sub-county and went to Maikona and North Horr for his primary education.
He was the top student in Marsabit District in 1981, and was consequently given a scholarship by Jomo Kenyatta Foundation and joined Garbatulla High school and later Kabarnet High school for his A-levels between 1986-87.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Sociology from Egerton University which he attained in 1991. He is also a graduate of New York University in the UK, where he got his Masters in Public Administration and Public Policy.
Yattani became a District Officer and rose through the ranks from District Officer Cadet to a Senior District Officer and then promoted to a District Commissioner in July 2002.
He was elected MP North Horr constituency in 2006 and later appointed as the Assistant Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology.
In 2009, he was appointed Ambassador, and Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vienna, with accreditation to Hungary and Slovakia
Yattani also served in the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which works to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy around the world.
He was elected the first governor of Marsabit in 2013 but lost to Mohamud Ali in 2017 General Election. He, however, got a soft landing after President Kenyatta appointed him CS.
In his intray is the standoff between the senators and the National Assembly over the Division of Revenue Bill. He is now the man heading the ministry that is tasked with county allocation, which his former colleagues have previously accused of delayed disbursement of funds, thus crippling devolution.
