Since he was sworn in, President William Ruto has been pushing out ex-president Uhuru Kenyatta’s appointees from key government institutions.
The Head of State has in return been picking his people to lead parastatals.
For instance, President William Ruto earlier this month revoked the appointment of Captain Paul Rukaria as the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) board chairman.
Rukaria, a retired commissioned officer of the Kenya Defence Forces had been appointed by former president Uhuru Kenyatta on August 5, 202 four days before the Presidential elections for a term of three years.
However, through a gazette notice dated February 6, 2023 ex-president Uhuru Kenyatta’s successor replaced him with Hussein Tene Debasso, who was vying for Isiolo’s 2022 governorship race.
As such, the retired military officer has sued President William Ruto and Attorney-General Justin Muturi over what he termed as ‘unlawful dismissal’.
In a suit filed at the courts, the claimant alleged that there was no consultation with State Corporations Advisory Committee before the revocation of his appointment.
“Section 7 (3) of the State Corporations Act is clear that before the President can revoke the appointment of any Board member, there have to be cogent reasons for the said revocation and that the same must be subjected to consultation with the state Corporation Advisory Committee,” Rukaria said.
He said that by revoking his appointment, the First in Command violated the Constitution and the Act and that he could not appoint Debasso because at the time there was a substantive office holder of the position.
Rukaria now wants the appointment of his successor suspended pending the hearing of the suit and eventually nullified and he is reinstated to the position.
This comes at a time when President William Ruto’s allies want all state officers appointed by now Rtd President Uhuru Kenyatta removed from the government.
According to Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, reinstating state officers appointed by Uhuru could jeopardize the Kenya Kwanza government because they do not support the government of the day.
“There are still very many remnants of Azimio in senior positions and they should be shown the door. There is no option,” Cherargei said on Wednesday, February 22.
