This archive report was first published on 28 July 2019.
Published on July 28, 2019, Raila Odinga's unusual request at a funeral in Murang'a County has sparked speculation about a potential Cabinet reshuffle in Kenya.
When Kenya's top leadership assembled in Gatanga, Murang'a County, for the funeral of the mother of former area MP Peter Kenneth, Raila Odinga made a highly unusual request. Addressing himself to President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was present, the ODM leader said that the bereaved politician merited a State job.
Recalling how well he and Mr Kenneth had worked together during the Mwai Kibaki administration, when Mr Kenneth was assistant minister for Planning, a department of the Treasury, Raila's request was seen as an attempt to influence the appointment of a new Treasury CS.
However, Jubilee insiders privately cautioned against reading too much from Raila's remark, suggesting that a prominent personality from Central Kenya stepping into the shoes of former CS Henry Rotich so soon after his departure would seriously fray nerves inside the feuding Jubilee coalition.
With Labour CS Ukur Yattani named acting Treasury CS, observers thought they detected an interesting power play at work, specifically in the context of Jubilee factional intrigues. Among the names being mentioned in the media as frontrunners to replace Rotich was that of Enterprise Development CS Adan Mohamed.
However, people affiliated to Uhuru's wing hinted Mohamed's name was being planted by the rival Jubilee faction of DP William Ruto, to which the CS is said to be linked. The person most widely speculated as a likely nominee to the substantive Treasury CS docket is Esther Koimett, the Transport CS.
With a Cabinet reshuffle widely anticipated, the picture will become clearer when – and if – the President makes his move. Meanwhile, the President may well find it is safer to keep Yattani in the seat for a while longer than would have been anticipated, as it postpones the inevitable flare-up of open factional hostilities until such a time as the Uhuru side is ready.
