Former Soy MP Caleb Kositany gets a lifeline after missing out on CAS job

Former Soy MP Caleb Kositany will serve as the chairperson of the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) for three years. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

Former Soy Member of Parliament (MP) Caleb Kositany, a key ally of President William Ruto, has gotten a lifeline after he missed out on Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) nomination on Thursday.

President Ruto on Friday, March 17 appointed Kositany the chairperson of the lucrative Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Board.

The former lawmaker will be at the helm of KAA for a period of three years, starting March 17, 2023.

KAA is one of the parastatals that generates a lot of money in revenue, with records indicating that it collects an average of Sh12 billion annually from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) alone.

After President Ruto was sworn into office on September 13, 2022, observers speculated that Kositany, who played an important role in popularising the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party, would get a lucrative State appointment such as Cabinet Secretary, Principal Secretary, or even the CAS.

He was, however, snubbed in all the three Cabinet roles, a move that raised eyebrows among observers.

Despite playing a noticeable role in popularising UDA, Kositany was among the big names that fell in April 2022 party primaries.

He was hoping to succeed Jackson Mandago as the Governor of Uasin Gishu County.

In the April 14 party primaries, Kositany was facing off against Jonathan Bii, Prof. Julius Bitok, former Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) chairperson Sarah Serem, among others.

Bii emerged the winner in the race for Uasin Gishu Governor UDA ticket after getting 71,152 votes.

Prof. Bitok came second with 59,001 votes. Others - Sarah Serem (19,113); Caleb Kositany (17,150); Vesca Kangogo (7,463); David Singoe (5,050) and Solomon Kiptarbei (1,032).

Bii would go ahead to emerge the winner of the Uasin Gishu governorship in the August 9, 2022 General Election.

After the bruising loss in the party nominations, Kositany maintained a low profile.

He served as Soy MP under Jubilee Party for five years, between 2017 and 2022.

Other UDA politicians, who were vocal during the campaigns, however, got a soft landing, with some assigned CS duties, others PS roles and most recently CAS functions.

For instance, Aisha Jumwa and Mithika Linturi, who unsuccessfully ran for Kilifi and Meru gubernatorial seats respectively, are now in Cabinet as CSs for Public Service and Agriculture in that order.

In the PS category, former Lang'ata MP Nixon Korir, who lost the seat to ODM's Jalang'o, was picked by President Ruto to serve in the Lands docket.

During the Thursday, March 16 unveiling of 50 CAS nominees, some UDA politicians who failed in the last election, got a lifeline after being nominated by President Ruto.

They include Bishop Margaret Wanjiru (SMEs), Charles Jaguar Kanyi (Arts), Millicent Omanga and Samuel Tunai (Interior), Wilson Sossion (Tourism), Catherine Waruguru and Joash Maangi (Foreign Affairs).