With President William Ruto’s Government settling in six months after taking power, several appointees from the previous government have found themselves jobless.
The majority of these appointees were former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s allies leading to speculations that Ruto was out to eject his predecessor's men and women.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei on Monday, February 13 sought to clarify the reorganisation and why Ruto was keen on having people who are aligned with his vision.
“No one is ejecting anybody. I know a number of CEOs whose terms were lapsing. It is not a political witch-hunt. You need people who see your vision and will not sabotage it,” he argued.
Cherargei in defence of the appointment of politicians to head parastatals questioned why the public doubted the credentials of former elected leaders.
"Politicians are professionals. A number of us are lawyers, accountants and teachers. Does it mean that if we retire we cannot go back to teaching??
His sentiments were however countered by political and governance expert Martin Oloo who stated that the appointments were made out of political patronage.
“People are not being appointed on basis of merit but loyalty and political rewards. What are we saying when we put people in serious positions, just because of that?” he opined.
Oloo also questioned the manner in which the revocations were being done by the government terming it a targeted purge.
"The critical issue in all this is due process. Article 47 of the constitution, is there a fair administration of justice?
Are people being given notice or they are just reworking all these? We need to live by the rule of law," he argued.
Among the loyalists rewarded in latest appointments include former Governors Jack Ranguma (Kisumu), Cleophas Lagat (Nandi), and John Mruttu (Taita-Taveta).
Ranguma was on Friday, February 10 appointed the chairman of the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority while Lagat would head the board of Rivatex East Africa.
Ruto has made more than one hundred changes in parastatal leadership and board membership directly or through Cabinet Secretaries.
The next purge will seek to replace chief executives of top State-owned firms despite a majority of their contracts running up to 2024.
