What Caused Mutua to Lose His Ministerial Job

President William Ruto made significant Cabinet adjustments on Wednesday, resulting in the reassignment of former Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua from the critical Foreign Affairs Ministry to the Tourism and Wildlife Ministry.

This move has raised questions among political analysts, who view it as a potential demotion, considering the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s substantial influence.

Adding weight to this perception is an Associated Press (AP) report that suggests a connection between Mutua’s transfer and his comments regarding police deployment to Haiti.

The reshuffle highlights the ever-evolving dynamics of political power and the delicate balance within the government.

It remains to be seen how this change will impact both ministries and the broader political landscape.

Minutes after the United Nations Security Council voted in favour of Kenya’s bid to send police officers to Haiti, CS Mutua released a statement indicating the government was planning to deploy the police shortly after.

The publication took exception to the fact that Mutua issued a statement before President Ruto which specified when Kenya would deploy police officers to the North American country.

Instructively, when he issued his statement, President William Ruto steered clear of making pronouncements on when the police officers would be deployed. 

Speaking to a local media house, Dr Brian Mutie,  a governance, law and democracy expert, hinted at the possibility of a ministerial gaffe.

Mutie explained that there is a two-tier process for issuing official statements on such a weighty matter.

The first, according to the governance expert, is for the relevant ministry to prepare two statements; one for the Head of State and another for the Cabinet Secretary.

The Foreign Affairs team then forwards the President’s speech to his handlers who finetune it and tailor it to suit what the President would ideally like to articulate.

“The problem is that the President’s team does not have the opportunity to look at what the CS’s speech looks like so it does not supersede that of the President in terms of content and autonomy,” Mutie pointed out while speculating on what could have gone wrong.

“It could also be that he was allowed to speak about the technical bit of the mission and the President was supposed to speak on overarching issues that are a bit more encompassing.”

On Mutua issuing a statement before the Head of State, Mutie explained that is usually part of the protocol where a CS speaks first on something that concerns his docket.

According to protocol, the President then reaffirms or gives a different view which now becomes the official cabinet position.