Musalia Mudavadi
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Why Musalia Mudavadi was spared in Ruto’s Cabinet dismissal

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Prime Cabinet Secretary and CS for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

President William Ruto on Thursday, July 11 spared Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi in Thursday’s purge to coordinate the principal secretaries to ensure continuity in government in the wake of his strained relations with his deputy Rigathi Gachagua.

The Nation established that President Ruto, in sparing Mr Mudavadi, underscored his confidence in him amid the challenges facing the Kenya Kwanza administration.

Mr Mudavadi, who chairs the National Development Implementation Committee comprising all PSs and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, will continue to coordinate the affairs of the ministries until “the broad-based Cabinet” is announced.

The Nation was reliably informed that Mr Gachagua “cannot be relied on to steer the ship and that’s why Mudavadi, with vast experience in Executive affairs, was tapped to coordinate the PSs”.

Mr Mudavadi has remained on an upward trajectory since President Ruto came into office. In October last year, the President handed him the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs docket, which guarantees him a position in the National Security Council.

The council has the President, the Deputy President and the CSs for Defence, Foreign Affairs and Internal Security. Others are the Attorney-General, Chief of the Defence Forces, Director-General of the National Intelligence Service and the Inspector-General of Police.

Mr Mudavadi joined the country’s politics at a tender age, becoming the youngest Cabinet Minister at the age of 29 in 1989.

The PCS has cut the image of a conciliatory leader in the government and was seen as the voice of reason in the Kenya Kwanza administration. While many political party leaders were reluctant to relinquish their party posts after appointment to various State positions, Mr Mudavadi resigned as Amani National Congress leader.

Some political analysts have tipped Mr Mudavadi as a possible replacement for Mr Gachagua in the 2027 election. But in a recent interview, he told the Nation: “Speculating about future elections is a distraction from the critical work we must do today.”