Nzioka Waita: The new power broker at State House

Nzioka Waita. He is the head of the Presidential Delivery Unit. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Nzioka joined the government in 2016 from Safaricom, where he was the director of corporate affairs.
  • When importers of Chinese products mounted a demonstration in city streets, shocking the government for their daring act, it was Mr Waita who scrambled a response to address their woes.

Nzioka Waita, the head of the Presidential Delivery Unit, has emerged as the new power broker at State House, multiple sources reveal.

Mr Waita also doubles as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s chief of staff, another position that puts him within arm’s reach of the President, having no executive role at the PDU, since it is run by Andrew Wakahiu, coupled with the fact that the role of the chief of staff is not well defined, Mr Waita has found himself with enough room to wiggle his way across government departments. And he has the President’s ear.

Speaking to the Sunday Nation, Mr Waita said power is a matter of perception and he would not be drawn into discussing whether he is powerful or not.

“I am a backroom person. My work is to ensure that the job I have been given is accomplished. I work at the pleasure of the President,” he said.

Since his appointment, Mr Waita has been instrumental in various decisions that have been made since the President’s second term started.

GROWING CLOUT

He co-wrote Executive Order 1, a powerful instrument that determines the duties of each government department.

He is the face of recent demolitions as the chair of the Nairobi Regeneration Committee. He has also been co-opted into the Cabinet and was prominent in Cabinet photos after the last meeting.

He has a refurbished office once occupied by former secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia.

And he has several deputies. Acting PSCU boss Kanze Dena and Government Spokesman Eric Kiraithe report to him, making him the communication boss for the government.

Mr Nzioka has eclipsed Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua and Comptroller of State House Kinuthia Mbugua.

When he was head-hunted from Safaricom to head the newly created Presidential Delivery Unit, Mr Waita perhaps never knew that one day he would be viewed as one of the most powerful people in the Jubilee administration.

POWERFUL MAN

Cabinet secretaries and principal secretaries, as well as parastatal executives, have been dealing with Mr Waita, thus making his reach in government far, wide and deep.

Previously, Mr Kinyua played this role but, as his time in government nears its end, it is Mr Waita who is slowly stepping into his shoes.

When an audio clip of a phone call between governors Mike Sonko (Nairobi) and Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu) over the arrest of the latter’s wife was leaked, an interesting tidbit passed unnoticed.

On the tape, Sonko is heard saying that his hands are tied and that Mr Waititu should call Mr Waita to have his wife released. It was telling that the elected governors were afraid of the unelected Mr Waita and not President Kenyatta.

“He is the new (Hezekiah) Oyugi, though not as powerful as the Moi man,” a source with knowledge of power manoeuvres in the corridors of power said.

The late Oyugi was a powerful permanent secretary in the office of the President at the dawn of multiparty politics in early 1990s.

DEMONSTRATIONS

When importers of Chinese products mounted a demonstration in city streets, shocking the government for their daring act, it was Mr Waita who scrambled a response to address their woes.

He led a high-powered delegation comprising top officers from the KRA, the Anti-Counterfeit Agency and the Kenya Bureau of Standards to meet officials of the Nairobi Importers and Traders Association, a lobby for small traders, in downtown Nairobi.

He promised them that the President was committed to ensuring that their problems with government agencies would end.

When the Kenya Medical Association and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union opposed the Kenya-Cuba doctors deal, he was again at hand to provide a policy direction over the matter.

He said only experts in areas such as oncology (cancer), nephrology (kidney) and dermatology (skin) would be brought to Kenya.

CUBAN DOCTORS

He defended the Nairobi-Havana deal, saying deploying medical experts to rural areas would reduce the number of patients relying on Kenyatta National Hospital and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.

In June, High Court Judge Onesmus Makau temporarily stopped the implementation of a circular by the head of civil service on the vetting of procurement officers.

Mr Waita took to Twitter to air what was considered as the Executive position on the matter.

“Whereas the Judiciary shouldn’t be condemned wholesale, from today’s ruling by the Labour Relations Court stopping vetting of public officers, two things are now clear for all to see: 1) Corruption is fighting back 2) Agents of impunity have found refuge in court corridors,” Mr Waita wrote.

“No matter how many obstacles are thrown in the way of this fight against corruption, there will be no relenting. It is my prayer that the leadership of the Judiciary upon whom the country has placed a lot of faith will put its house in order. The fight against corruption will be messy and uncomfortable but it must be done for the greater good of the nation,” he added.

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION

In July, Mr Waita moved to streamline communication in government by disowning several social media handles and setting the record straight on how information is disseminated.

He disowned @PresidentKE and @PSCU_Digital unit as official Twitter accounts and directed that official accounts would be @StateHouseKenya, @UKenyatta, @FirstLadyKenya and @KanzeDena.

"All official communication originating from the President’s Strategic Communications Unit will strictly be communicated through the listed channels," he said.

"Operational correspondence by PSCU staff to media outlets will be done through officially assigned president.go.ke email addresses."

He had also made the announcement that saw Citizen TV anchor Kanze Dena appointed the Deputy State House spokesperson in far-reaching changes made in the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit.

Mr Nzioka joined the government in 2016 from Safaricom, where he was the director of corporate affairs.