The office of the Head of Public Service has all the trappings of power that come with being the Secretary to the Cabinet.
Any holder of that position coordinates the business of Cabinet and only reports to the President himself. In Kenya's history, only one woman, Sally Kosgei, has risen that far up in the government.
She was appointed in 2001 by then President Daniel Moi and served until 2003 when Francis Muthaura took charge after Mwai Kibaki's win.
“Moi liked Kosgei. He consulted her more often than he did her predecessors. She was the power behind the throne,” a retired government protocol officer who worked with Kosgei at Harambee House told The Standard.
She had the opportunity of overseeing and coordinating the historic hand over of the government from Moi to Kibaki in 2002.
Sally once narrated to Nation the trying moments during her last official assignment, Kibaki's swearing-in ceremony.
The chaotic event at Uhuru Park was marked with a haphazard sitting arrangement and an uncontrollable crowd.
“I was very angry at what had happened. As if that were not enough, on the way out of Uhuru Park, it was impossible to get into my car, whose windscreen had been broken; I had to ride with other people,” recalls Sally Kosgei who lost her shoe in the commotion.
During Moi's symbolic airlift from State House to his Kabarak home in Kenya Air Force helicopter, Sally watched weeping.
“I cried for days because of the work we had done (preparing for the handover to Kibaki). I didn’t cry for him (Moi); I cried for democracy.”
Prior to joining State House, Sally was a career diplomat representing Kenya in Switzerland, Ireland as well as UN-Habitat.
Even after Moi's exit in 2002, she was retained in the Cabinet by Kibaki as the Minister for Higher Education before swapping with Agriculture Minister William Ruto after the 2007 General Elections.
