President William Ruto has nominated Mbeere North MP Geoffrey Ruku as the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development, and Special Programmes. If approved by Parliament, Ruku will replace Justin Muturi, who was relieved of his duties.
The nomination was announced on Wednesday in a statement by Chief of Staff Felix Koskei, who said the move was part of efforts to strengthen the Cabinet and enhance service delivery.
Ruku, 45, was elected Mbeere North MP on a Democratic Party (DP) ticket in the 2022 General Election after garnering 17,069 votes, defeating three other candidates. A key ally of President Ruto, he made his first parliamentary attempt in 2013 but lost to Muriuki Njagagua.
In 2017, he ran for the Embu Senate seat on a Jubilee Party ticket but was unsuccessful, losing to Njeru Ndigwa.
Beyond politics, Ruku is the founding director of Climate Pal Ltd, a company specializing in carbon emissions reduction projects in Kenya.
His academic background includes a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in 2002. He later pursued a Post-Graduate Diploma in Diplomacy and International Relations at the University of Nairobi in 2005 and an MBA in Finance in 2009.
During his university years, Ruku was the chairman of the Mbeere University Students’ Association and had held leadership positions since primary school.
Cabinet Changes and Muturi’s Fallout
Ruku’s nomination follows a reshuffle that saw Muturi removed from his position as Attorney General. His departure came after he openly criticized the government over a spate of abductions during Gen Z-led demonstrations last year.
In a TV interview, Muturi defended his stance, stating he had no regrets about speaking out against abductions. However, Ruto later dismissed him as “fairly incompetent” while praising new AG Dorcas Oduor for her handling of the Muslim Endowment Fund (Waqf).
Muturi responded to Ruto’s remarks on Wednesday, defending his track record at the State Law Office and emphasizing the role of the Waqf Commission.
Apart from Ruku’s nomination, Ruto also nominated Hannah Wendot Cheptumo as the CS for Gender, Culture, Arts, and Heritage. Additionally, Environment CS Aden Duale was swapped with his Health counterpart Deborah Barasa.
Koskei stated that the new appointments aim to bring fresh expertise to the Cabinet as the government continues implementing its socio-economic transformation agenda.
