5 Ex-CSs Who Left Lucrative Jobs for Ruto's Gov't but Got Fired 20 Months Later

On 27 September 2022, two weeks after being inaugurated, President William Ruto announced 24 names of persons he had nominated for his cabinet. 

Among the 24 were leaders such as Alice Wahome and Aden Duale, who had been elected Members of Parliament; Kipchumba Murkomen, who had been re-elected Elgeyo Marakwet Senator; Soipan Tuya, who had been nominated to the Senate by the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party and Rebecca Miano, who was the then Managing Director of KenGen. 

The 24 names were forwarded to Parliament, which later approved their nomination, albeit with reservations from a section of opposition leaders such as John Mbadi, who questioned the competence of some of the nominees.

"We have a choice to make either decision to reject over 60 percent of these names or give President Ruto his skunk. Let us not interfere with it. We give it to him...These are not people who can run the government," Mbadi said.

Following their approval by Parliament, the nominees resigned from their various roles in readiness to join the Executive.

Murkomen Resignation

He resigned from the Senate after being approved as the CS nominee for Ministry of Roads and Transport. In his resignation, Murkomen expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve as senator and urged the House to work with him in his next role. 

"I'm standing here with mixed feelings because Senate has been home for 10 years. It is not for me to tell Kenyans whether I left a legacy or not, it is for historians to write about my responsibility in this House," he said in part.

Duale Resignation

On his part, Duale resigned from his seat as Garissa Township MP after being approved as the CS for the Ministry of Defence. 

In his farewell message, Duale, who had served as Leader of the Majority in the National Assembly, promised to work with the National Assembly to better the country.

"As I go to the Executive arm of government, I promise to work with members here. If any one of you wants my help, please do not hesitate to visit my office. I will make time for you, you will not wait…unless, of course, if you become too frequent and make it difficult for me to do my job," he said.

Tuya resignation

Prior to assuming her role as CS for Environment and Forestry, Tuya resigned from her position as Nominated Senator.

In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Tuya said, "Penning my resignation from Senate today with nostalgia and lots of gratitude…Thank you to the People of Narok; it has been a huge honor serving as your legislator for the last 10 years and 3 months.."

Wahome Resignation

She tabled her resignation after her nomination to the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation was approved.

In her final address to the House, Wahome said: "I want to acknowledge my colleagues, both in minority and majority, and that this time I have stayed in Parliament, I have enjoyed cordial relationships with most of the members. I look forward to being able to work with them."

She served in the Ministry of Water for one year before being moved to the Ministry of Lands Public Works, Housing, and Urban Developments, where she served until her dismissal.

Miano Leaving KenGen

Unlike the other four, she was a technocrat and was picked to head the Ministry of East African Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), and Regional Development from KenGen, a key parastatal in the country.

While announcing her exit, former KenGen Board Chairperson General (Rtd) Samson Mwathethe congratulated Miano for her exemplary and stellar performance.

"Mrs. Miano led KenGen through an action-packed phase of steady growth, which continued throughout her leadership, putting KenGen on an upward trajectory. Her biggest test was perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatened energy utilities across the world. Still, Mwathethe said she was able to steady the ship and deliver good results, even at the peak of COVID-19 restrictions.

"We will also remember Mrs. Miano for her role in championing KenGen's position in the climate action campaign, not only locally, but also going all out to put the company on the global map," he added.

The five's decision to leave their lucrative jobs, only to be dismissed 20 months later, is evidence of the volatile nature of political appointments. Although political appointments come with status and influence, they are highly unpredictable.