Ruto courtiers in push to remove Uhuru appointees
Forces within the new government are pushing for the revocation of top parastatal chiefs appointed by immediate former President Uhuru Kenyatta on the eve of the August 9 election over alleged irregularities in their hiring, People Daily has learnt.
Highly placed sources in the new administration intimated that a section of top officials and politicians in Kenya Kwanza was pushing for revocation of the appointments because they flouted the Constitution.
The matter is said to have been discussed during a meeting between President William Ruto and top figures in Kenya Kwanza on the eve of his swearing-in last Tuesday.
“The new administration will definitely revoke those appointments because they are in breach of the Constitution given the time they were made. We have discussed the issue and a decision has been taken,” said a Member of Parliament close to the new administration, who attended the meeting at Ruto’s then-official residence in Karen.
Proponents of the revocation argue that Uhuru made the appointments after August 9, only for the Gazette Notice to be backdated to August 5.
They cite Clause 134 of the constitution on the exercise of presidential powers during temporary incumbency which states thus: “A person who holds the office of President or who is authorised in terms of this Constitution to exercise the powers of the President – (a) during the period commencing on the date of the first vote in a presidential election, and ending when the newly elected President assumes office; or (b) while the President is absent or incapacitated, or at other times contemplated in Article 147 (3), may not exercise the powers of the President specified in clause (2).
Powers referred to include the nomination or appointment of judges of superior courts, nomination or appointment of any other public officer whom this Constitution or legislation requires the President to appoint, nomination or appointment or dismissal of Cabinet Secretaries and other State or Public officers.
Interested parties
It also refers to the nomination or appointment or dismissal of a high commissioner, ambassador, or diplomatic or consular representative; the power of mercy; and the authority to confer honours in the name of the people and the Republic.
On the radar of top Kenya Kwaanza honchos include Dr Cecilia Mutuku and John Ogallo who were appointed to the board of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
Others are Linus Gitahi (pictured) who was appointed to chair Rivatex East Africa Limited Board of Directors, Amb Dennis Awori (board of State Corporations Advisory Committee), Dr Apollo Kokonya (Non-Executive Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Kenya Board of Mental Health) John Waithaka (Non-Executive Chairperson of the Kenya Forestry Research Institute), Dr Nabila Khanbhai (Non-Executive Chairperson of the Kenya Tissue and Transplant Authority) and Robert Mwangi Kariuki (chairperson of the Kenya Water Towers Agency Board).
Others who could be afftectd include Winfrida Ngumi (Chairperson, Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), Geoffrey Gitu Mbirua (Non-Executive Chairperson of the National Aids Control Council), Gerald Macharia (Non-Executive Chairperson of the Kenya National Public Health Institute) and Jas Bedi (Non-Executive Chairperson of the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency Board).
Others are Geoffrey Mbirua (Non-Executive Chairperson of the National Aids Control Council) and Gerald Macharia (Non-Executive Chairperson of the Kenya National Public Health Institute) among others.
