Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa has been appointed to chair the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. The appointment comes amid the return of several of President William Ruto’s allies to government.
In an official notice dated Friday, November 29, Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua appointed Echesa to head the council for the next two years. Echesa served as an aide to then-Deputy President Ruto before a scandal emerged, starting his legal challenges.
“In exercise of powers conferred by Sections 28(1) and (2) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2007, as read together with Section 51 (1) of the Interpretation and General Provisions Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection appoints Rashid Echesa to be the chairperson of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health,” part of the notice read.
Echesa, who already serves as the Chairman of the Kenya Water Tower Agency Board, will take over the council from November 29 to May 18, 2026, after Ali Wario’s appointment was revoked.
ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi (left) with former Sports CS Rashid Echesa at the Busia County Kenya Kwanza Alliance delegates’ caucus on Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Rashid Echesa
Former Labour CS Florence Bore appointed former Bura MP Ali Wario as the chair of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health for three years with effect from March 15, 2024.
This is not the first time Echesa will be serving in government. He has also been a staunch follower of the head of state.
In May 2023, President Ruto appointed Echesa as chairperson of the Kenya Water Towers Agency Board for three years ending in 2026.
The politician has experienced his share of political turmoil. In March 2019, during a Cabinet reshuffle by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, Echesa was removed from his position as Sports Cabinet Secretary and replaced by Ambassador Amina Mohamed.
Echesa described his firing as a shock, as he believed he had been loyal to both Uhuru and his then deputy.
Two months after his dismissal, Echesa was arrested in connection with the killings in Matungu, following an event that was attended by then Deputy President William Ruto. He was later released when police were unable to establish a link between him and the alleged murders.
In 2020, Echesa found himself back in police custody over alleged connections to a foreign arms supply bid. After numerous court appearances and hearings, a Nairobi court eventually acquitted him in the Ksh39 billion fake arms scandal due to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) not providing key witnesses for the case.
Despite all the legal battles, Echesa has remained an ally of President Ruto, being one of the pillars for his swoop of votes in western Kenya during the 2022 polls.
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) was established under Section 27 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA, 2007).
It has an advisory role to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection on matters of occupational safety and health.
Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa at a Nairobi court on February 17, 2020.
Photo
Evans Habil