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President William Ruto has appointed David Nzioka the Secretary in charge of Digital and Innovations at State House.
News of Nzioka's appointment was shared by Dennis Itumbi, who has been a digital strategist in President Ruto's camp.
"Congratulations to the new State House Digital and Innovations boss, @ndayvid. A few years ago, we were kicked out [of President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration]. Today, you return as the secretary in charge of digital. I wish you well as you serve," Itumbi said on his Twitter page on Monday, January 9.
David Nzioka, a former key digital communications officer in President Kenyatta's administration, replaced Dennis Itumbi as the Director of Innovations and New Media at State House in April 2019.
Itumbi had been kicked out of President Kenyatta's administration following his dalliance with President Ruto, who was serving as Kenyatta's deputy at the time.
The president and his deputy fell out shortly after Kenyatta entered into a unity pact with opposition leader Raila Odinga on March 9, 2018.
Itumbi had served as the Director of Digital Innovations and Diaspora Communications before being replaced by Nzioka, who was credited for producing viral videos of Kenyatta and Ruto sharing light moments in the run-up to August 8, 2017 General Election.
Barely one year into his job as the Director of Innovations and New Media at State House, David Nzioka's role was, in March 2020, declared redundant by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
Other positions that were scrapped included Senior Director, Communications (Events and Branding), Senior Director, Communications (Speech-writing) and Principle Information Officer (Head of Digital Strategies).
David Nzioka's Twitter page shows a man who has been keen on ensuring President William Ruto's messages, activities and milestones are widely circulated.
For instance, he retweeted Hustler Fund launch tweets, President Ruto ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, among others.
On December 24, 2022, he tweeted a picture of State House Nairobi, where he was at, and captioned it #HappyHolidays.
Nzioka will work closely with State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, the Head of Presidential Communication Service (PSC) David Mugonyi and the Press Secretary to the Presidential Communication Service (PSC) Emmanuel Talam.
Other appointments made by President Ruto on Monday, January 9, include the hiring of Munyori Buku as the Secretary in charge of Public Communications; Eric Ngeno (Messaging Secretary and Speech-writer) and James Kinyua (Secretary in charge of Branding and Events).
Wanjohi Githae, the Communications Director of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party, which is led by President Ruto, has been appointed the Director of Public Communications.
The appointments take effect immediately.
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