Listen Francis Thuita Kimemia was the Secretary to the Cabinet during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s first term. He was literally positioned for the job by President Mwai Kibaki’s administration when he was strategically confirmed as Head Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet on 22 December 2012 after acting for almost a year. Ambassador Francis Muthaura […]
Listen Often coming across as lost and perplexed during press conferences, it seemed as if Joseph ole Lenku, the former Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government, would much rather have been somewhere else, not answering questions about his docket. Hardly surprising considering he was a most unlikely pick for the position. Virtually […]
Listen Samuel Kazungu Kambi is a member of Uhuru Cabinets’ dramatic and cacophonous ilk. The former Kilifi County MP and grassroots mobiliser with a long, uproarious laugh and folksy charm was a farceur politician, jerky in oratorial grasp when expressing himself in English and seemingly out of place in Jubilee’s first Cabinet filled with men […]
Listen On 14 January 2020, His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta reshuffled his Cabinet and nominated Mutahi Kagwe to take charge of the Ministry of Health. This was barely one month after the first cases of Covid-19 were reported in China. As the rapid spread of the disease began to cause alarm across the world, Kenyans’ […]
Listen When he started out as a politician, Festus Mwangi Kiunjuri was seen by many as a mere political rookie. But this would turn out to be a great underestimation of his prowess as things evolved over the years. Politics was always Kiunjuri’s passion. In university he was a fiery student leader, which probably shaped […]
Listen Willy Kipkorir Bett’s academic qualifications, professional preparation, and work experience made him one of the best picks to oversee agriculture, the backbone of Kenya’s economy. Agriculture was a key pillar of the Jubilee administration’s Third Medium Term Plan, and the administration had come up with the Big Four Action Plan, often referred to as […]
Listen Dr Cleopa Mailu seemed ideal for the job of Health Cabinet Secretary – he had the right academic credentials and training as a medical doctor. Apart from a history of several high-level jobs, both at home and internationally, he had worked for Nairobi Hospital, which is among the top medical facilities in the country […]
Listen The Jubilee campaign that propelled Uhuru Kenyatta to the presidency was remarkable in many ways, the most striking of which, arguably, was its sensational projection of its leadership as youthful, savvy, and digital. Its competitors were thereby cast as older, analogue, and more or less clumsy and not prepared for the brave new world […]
Listen One of the distinguishing features of Uhuru Kenyatta as President is how he gave youthful leaders big positions in government. Among the youthful leaders to grace Cabinet meetings was Daniel Kazungu Muzee who represented both the youth and the coastal region that holds a special place in Kenya’s post-independence self-awareness. More critical is the […]
Listen In the archives of Kenya’s broadcast media houses lies the forgotten record of one of Kenya’s most rousing speeches. It was delivered by the roadside at an airport, and not by a politician, lawyer, preacher, professor or any of the usual suspects. The speaker was a technocrat and an engineer by training. A people […]