This archive report was first published on 7 August 2020.
Former Director of Innovation, Digital and Diaspora Communication at State House, Dennis Itumbi, has spoken out about the challenges he faced during his tenure in the Presidential Strategic Communications Unit (PSCU).
According to Itumbi, he worked without pay for a year, from August 2019 to March 2020, citing opposition from former State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu, now Kenya's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Itumbi claimed that Esipisu's reluctance to approve changes he proposed to transform the team hindered his efforts to re-shape the communication of the Presidency to suit the modern, digital age.
He revealed that he bypassed Esipisu and approached President Uhuru Kenyatta directly to sign off on the project, which he did.
Itumbi's stint at PSCU was marked by a combative defense of the President and government projects online.
His position, as well as several others within the PSCU, was scrapped as part of a major overhaul of State House's communications strategy in March 2020.
