Cabinet shuffle likely sparked Sagana retreat

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s four-day retreat to Sagana State Lodge, Nyeri has heightened anxiety of a looming shake-up in the government.

Speculation has been rife that President Kenyatta is seriously considering making mid-term changes to his cabinet as he seeks to fortify his influence and rid himself of non-performing officials and those linked to corruption.

He shifted base to the rarely used Sagana State Lodge on April 25 after his US visit was cancelled over questionable circumstances which saw his plane return to Nairobi mid-air.

The President could also be considering re-assigning some officials. Apart from the five cabinet secretaries and other senior officials who are on suspension over corruption allegations, it is thought the President is unhappy with the performance of some officials in his government.

The axe could also fall on security officials who were involved in the President’s abortive trip to the US last week.
The 50-50 pre-election coalition agreement between TNA and URP on sharing government positions could also come into focus in the changes if Mr Kenyatta ignores it.  

President Kenyatta retreated to Sagana State Lodge with just a handful of his trusted advisers while his Deputy William Ruto was left behind in Nairobi only reportedly going there for brief consultations. It is understood that the President had dismissed some of his advisers who did not accompany him to Sagana. 

That the relationship between President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto is strained has been evidenced by the fewer public events that they attend together. They have also gone past the period after the elections when they walked side by side to press conferences and public events in matching white shirts with folded sleeves and red ties.

The two rarely share podiums any more. Mr Ruto was not present at Uhuru Park on Friday where President Kenyatta led the country in Labour Day celebrations.

Political analyst Martin Oloo says there are sufficient pointers that something might be cooking. “Perhaps the President is simply telling the country that he can make his own decisions on how he wants to run the government. Coalition governments in this country have always shown that pre-election agreements are usually affected by the exigencies of actually running the government,” said Mr Oloo.

CORRUPTION

President Kenyatta could use the controversial Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission dossier that he handed to Parliament on March 26 to make wholesome changes to his cabinet, including splitting some and reassigning cabinet secretaries and principal secretaries.

Public Service Commission Chairperson Prof Margaret Kobia had told Nation that cabinet mini-shuffle that saw the return of Mr Eugene Wamalwa created room for more appointments.
The Constitution provides that the cabinet consists of not fewer than 14 and not more than 22 cabinet secretaries, excluding the President, Deputy President and Attorney General.

This means that with 19 ministries following the nomination of Eugene Wamalwa as cabinet secretary of the newly created Water and Irrigation Services ministry, there are still three more cabinet positions that President Kenyatta can create or carve out from the existing ones. The recent mini-reshuffle and the appointment of 302 individuals to sit in parastatal boards last Monday have also indicated that more changes may be on the way.

“The mid-term has reached and both TNA and URP have to start looking forward to the next elections,” said Mr Oloo.  
Mr Ruto’s side is sulking over perceptions that they have been overlooked or targeted in the recent suspensions of cabinet secretaries.

Vocal Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter was recently quoted criticising the President’s directive to officials linked with corruption to step aside.
“I can confidently tell you that TNA wants to see URP out of government and they are doing everything possible to provoke URP into quitting,” said Mr Keter.

“My brother William Ruto should wake up and realise that his own enemies are inside government and he should take action before it’s too late because TNA wants to weaken him before 2017,” he added.

The matter has since become a major source of concern to the staff at Mr Ruto’s office.