Uhuru reaps big in President Ruto's latest appointments

President Willim Ruto with his predicessor Uhuru Kenyatta. [Standard, File]

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta's political allies are the biggest winners in President William Ruto's latest appointments and nominations.

Ruto on Thursday, December 19 picked former Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe as the Agriculture CS.

Former Laikipia and Kiambu Governors Lee Kinyanjui and William Kabogo have been nominated as Cabinet Secretaries for Trade and ICT, respectively.

The trio must be vetted and approved by Parliament, after which they will be sworn in.

However, Ruto's close political ally, Kipchumba Murkomen, has been moved from the Sports Ministry to the Ministry of Interior.

He fills the position left vacant after Prof. Kithure Kindiki was elevated to Deputy President following Rigathi Gachagua's impeachment.

Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi has been holding the docket on an interim basis.

Former Mining CS Salim Mvurya will replace Murkomen at the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sports, and Culture.

Another close ally of Uhuru, former Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi, has been named the Board Chair at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

Anthony Mwaura and Kembi Gitura will chair boards at the Kenya Rural Roads Authority and Kenyatta University Teaching, Research, and Referral Hospital.

This comes days after Olive Mugenda resigned from the reins of KU Hospital after staff protested poor working conditions.

Former Sports CS Ababu Namwamba was nominated to be the country's permanent representative to UNEP.

Margaret Nyambura, Dorothy Angote, and  Andrew Karanja were nominated as ambassadors to Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Brazil, respectively.

 The appointments and nominations come days after President Ruto visited his predecessor's home in Ichaweri, Gatundu South, where they had a handshake, ending years of political rivalry.

Ruto, then Deputy President, differed with his former boss Uhuru Kenyatta when he opted to work with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The duo had proposed amending the constitution through a set of proposals dubbed Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), which Ruto de-campaigned.