FIVE CABINET SECRETARIES LIKELY TO BE EXCLUDED FROM NEW FORMATION BY PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA

 

Charles Keter CS for Energy

News that President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered all Cabinet Secretaries to take two weeks leave came as a big shock to those concerned, The Weekly Vision has learnt. The official explanation is that the decision was taken to allow them to have some rest having been engaged since the beginning of the year.  

We have however, learnt that State House has directed investigative agencies specifically the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Ethics and Inti-Corruption Commission to conduct intensive investigations concerning any report of abuse of office or corrupt allegations against the CS’s and their PS’s then hand over the files to State House within a week. The compiled reports are then likely to be used as a basis as to whether one will be retained into the cabinet office or face charges in the courts of law. The move has triggered some anxiety in the government of a looming Cabinet reshuffle.  

Sources told this site that five serving Cabinet Secretaries may not make it back to the cabinet. Three are from the former Rift Valley and two from Central Kenya, the three from Rift Valley are Charles Keter CS for Energy, Faridah Karoney CS Lands & Physical Planning and Simon Chelugui CS in charge of Labour. From Central Kenya are Joe Mucheru CS Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) and Cecil Kariuki CS Water, Sanitation and Irrigation are also likely to be shown the door. The five are likely to be replaced by suitable candidates from the same areas.

CS Charles Keter has faced calls for him to resign in the past, the calls have been made by several groups and individuals. Following arrest and subsequent arraignment of senior Kenya Power officials over corruption charges, people appealed to the president to drop him from office. Former Kenya Power Managing Director Ken Tarus, his predecessor Ben Chumo are in court today on corruption allegations. The scandal riddled 400kV Loiyangalani-Suswa high voltage power transmission line, which was meant to evacuate 310MW of wind power from the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project to the national grid could also cost him his job.

 A company associated with CS Simon Chelugui, Afrety Global Logistics Limited is said to have benefited from tenders in the Ministry of Water where he was previously in charge.

Directorate of Criminal Investigations is reported to have conducted investigations regarding an incident at the land's ministry where the officials failed to account for Ksh 20 Billion. The ministry is under Faridah Karoney. The DCI also summed companies linked to the Kimwarer and Arror multi-billion-shilling dam scandal. It was alleged that one firm was paid Ksh8 million for cutlery, while another company supplied towels worth a mind-boggling Ksh22 million.

In 2019 Cecil Kariuki then CS health was put under the spotlight by the Senate's ad hoc committee on Managed Equipment Service (MES) over the Philips Medical Systems Nederland BV which had initially been contracted by the Government to deliver Intensive Care Unit (ICU) equipment at a cost of Sh3.6 billion.

But after variations, the cost shot up to Sh4.5 billion. The contract was said to have been illegal, it is now feared that the Dutch company may file for legal damages.

Joe Mucheru has been holding that office since 2015 and its during his tenure that one of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s pet projects to supply all primary school pupils in Kenya with laptops failed to take off.