President William Ruto on Friday, November 15, dealt a blow to former Kenya Hydrologists Registration Board Chair Lawrence Thongoro Kuria after he revoked his appointment.
Ruto, via a notice published in the Kenya Gazette, revoked Thongoro’s appointment to the board, despite having served just for months at the position.
''In exercise of the powers conferred by section 51 (1) of the Interpretation and General Provisions Act, the President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces revokes the appointment of Lawrence Thongoro Kuria as the chairperson of the Hydrologists Registration Board,’’ Ruto stated in the notice.
The revocation of the engineer came just one year after he was appointed to the position in September last year.
However, the President did not give a reason for revoking Thongoro's appointment to the board.
Additionally, Ruto did not indicate whether Thongoro would be moved to another state agency after the revocation of his appointment.
Also, the President did not announce an immediate replacement following the revocation.
President Ruto has been keen on making various state appointments since the reorganization of his government to include members from the opposition.
Thongoro is among some of Kenya’s top water engineers having been certified by the Water Services Resources Management Unit in 2019.
‘’It is notified for information of the general public that according to rule 137 (2) of the Water Resource Management Rules, 2007, the following persons/firms have been licensed to operate as Qualified Water Resource Professionals/Consultants for the year 2019, having duly been registered/renewed their licences. Details of Categories/Classes are contained in their licences: Lawrence Thongoro Kuria,’’ the authority stated vide the announcement made in 2019.
Thongoro's role on the board included the regulation of registration of professionals who wished to practice related practices.
Additionally, the management of the board falls under the Ministry of Water and Sanitation and is classified as a state corporation.
''The Hydrologists Registration Board is a Regulatory State Corporation formed under the Hydrologists Act No 19 of 2017, whose mandate is to regulate, coordinate and oversee the practice of Hydrology in Kenya,'' reads the bio of the board on Linkedin.
