Ruto Revokes Appointments of Ex-KUCCPS Chair Joe Owaka & Kiema Mwandia

President William Ruto has revoked the appointment of two state officials in government. 

Per a gazette notice, Ruto revoked the appointment of Joe Owaka Ager as chair of the Board of Directors of the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya. 

“In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 6(1)(a) of the State Corporations Act, as read together with Section 51 (1) of the Interpretations and General Provisions Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, revoke the appointment of Joe Owaka Ager as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya, with effect from January 31, 2025,” the notice read in part.

Owaka served as the chair of the Placement Board for the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) from 2018 to 2021 during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure. 

Owaka, a close ally to Raila Odinga, also once served as the General Manager of the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) from 2010 to 2015. 

More recently, he was part of the fresh round of government advisors appointed by Ruto. Owaka was appointed as Secretary of Governance. Notably, Owaka’s appointment as an advisor came after Ruto had pledged to cut down on advisors as part of austerity measures.

The second appointment to be revoked was Kiema Mwandia as a member of the Tanathi Water Works Development Agency Board. 

“In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 51(1) of the Interpretations and General Provisions Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, *revoke the appointment of Kiema Mwandia as a Member of Tanathi Water Works Development Agency Board, with effect from January 31, 2025,” stated the notice.

Mwandia is a close ally of Ruto, holding the position of county coordinator of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in Kitui.

The revocation of the two appointments by Ruto follows the recent revocation of Francis Meja by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba as a member of the Council of the Murang’a University of Technology. 

Meja, who was the former Director General of the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), had his appointment revoked following his latest swearing-in to take up his position as a member of the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Meja was officially sworn in to assume the new position on January 20, following his nomination by Ruto to the PSC board in December 2024.