This archive report was first published on 30 August 2019.
On August 30, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a new executive order that significantly expanded the powers of Interior Security and National Coordination cabinet secretary Fred Matiang'i and his principal secretary Karanja Kibicho.
According to sources, Matiang'i and Kibicho are key figures in Uhuru's inner circle who have little regard for Ruto's influence.
However, this move has come at the expense of Agriculture cabinet secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri, a close ally of Ruto who had ambitions to be his running mate in the 2022 elections. Kiunjuri's duties have been significantly reduced, and his ministry has lost the lucrative irrigation department, which has been transferred to the Water and Sanitation docket.
Simon Chelugui will now oversee the ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation, while PS Fred Segor's fate remains uncertain.
Uhuru has publicly criticized Kiunjuri over graft allegations and the tribulations faced by maize farmers.
Under the new order, Karanja Kibicho has been handed the Immigration docket, which was previously vacant after Gordon Kihalangwa was moved to the ministry of Defence as PS.
The new docket will now be known as the State Department of Irrigation and Citizen Services, placing Kibicho at the center of passport issuance.
Furthermore, Uhuru has entrusted Matiang'i with the Presidential Delivery Unit, which oversees the implementation of his four development agendas.
As chairman of the influential National Development Implementation and Communication cabinet committee, Matiang'i will now have more authority in dealing with the Department of Directorate of National Cohesion and Values, which was previously under the Executive Office of the President.
This move is seen as a further attempt by Uhuru to consolidate power and sideline Ruto's allies.
