President William Ruto, on Friday, May 19, appointed former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa as the chairperson of the Kenya Water Towers Agency Board.
The announcement was made in a Gazette Notice published on Friday, May 19.
Echesa was appointed to the board for a term of three years.
"I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, appoint Rashid Echesa to be the Chairperson of the Kenya Water Towers Agency Board, for three (3) years, with effect from the May 19, 2023," read the notice in part.
Consequently, Ruto revoked the appointment of Robert Kariuki, appointed to the board by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022.
Apart from Echesa, Elisha Busienei and Michael Waititu Maina were also appointed to the board as members.
Just like the former CS, the duo will serve for three years.
In Western Kenya, Echesa was Ruto's key campaign team member in the 2022 General Election.
Notably, the former CS ran for the Mumias West parliamentary seat on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket but was defeated by Johnson Naicca, who was elected on an ODM ticket.
Uhuru appointed Echesa as Sports CS in 2017. However, he was fired on March 1, 2019, after his ministry was marred with graft allegations and replaced with Ambassador Amina Mohammed.
Speaking in Busia County during a Kenya Kwanza alliance delegates meeting on Tuesday, March 29, Echesa, however, claimed that Uhuru did not offer a detailed explanation for his firing.
“You heard me asking him to shed light on my sacking so I have a clean slate whenever I seek another opportunity. He declined. Later on I was apprehended and faced several charges which were eventually thrown out of court,” Echesa stated.
