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Ruto taps retired judge Jackton Ojwang', ex-Speaker Benson Mutura in new state jobs

President William Ruto addresses the nation following heavy rains and subsequent flooding in the country, at the State House in Nairobi on May 3, 2024. (Photo: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

By Mary Wambui | Saturday, May 25, 2024

Ojwang' and Mutura will chair the EPRA and the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority boards, respectively.

Retired Supreme Court Judge Jackton Ojwang and former Nairobi Speaker Benson Mutura are new chairs of the boards of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) and the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, respectively.

President William Ruto announced the appointments in a May 24 Gazette notice, saying the two would serve for three years, effective the date of the notice.

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Other notable appointees include Mohamed Said, who will be the non-executive chair of the board of the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, and Ningala Karachu, who will chair the council of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

At the same time, plans to establish the inaugural Human Origins Museum and Science Park have kicked off with the gazettement of the steering committee that will spearhead the process in the Lake Turkana Basin.

Chief of Defence Forces, General Charles Kahariri, will chair the team that will serve indefinitely, with National Museums of Kenya (NMK) Director General Mary Gikungu.

General Kahariri replaces General Francis Ogolla, the chief of defence forces, who was the leader of the task force until his death in April.

The project is expected to open up and elevate the Lake Turkana basin, and Kenya at large, as global tourist destinations for social and economic advancement.

The team's roles include mapping out historical sites in the basin and areas linked to the first human species, researching fossils found in the area, and establishing a database for the same.

Its members are from ministries, departments, and agencies including the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), the Ministry of Tourism, the NMK, the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), and the Turkana County Government.

The committee will further explore interlinkages between tourism products in the county, including the rich cultural heritage of the Turkana people and other communities in the Lake Turkana Basin.