Ruto appoints Aisha Jumwa as Roads Board chair, Omanga heads to Kenya Shipyard

Former Gender Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa has been appointed by President William Ruto as the non-executive chairperson of the Kenya Roads Board.

The appointment, announced in a Gazette notice dated January 17, 2025, is set to run for three years.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by section 7 (1) (a) of the Kenya Roads Board Act, as read together with section 51 (1) of the Interpretation and General Provisions Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, appoint Aisha Jumwa Katana to be the non-executive Chairperson of the Kenya Roads Board, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from January 17, 2025," the notice read.

Jumwa's appointment replaces Ahmed Kolosh Mohamed, whose tenure was revoked by the President.

The move is seen as fulfilling a promise made by President Ruto in July 2024, shortly after Jumwa was excluded from his reconstituted Cabinet.

While addressing a crowd in Watamu, Ruto assured his supporters that Jumwa would return to his administration.

"I want to tell you that I will not leave my sister Aisha Jumwa out of my government. She is my sister; she will walk with me," the President said at the time.

Jumwa previously served as the Cabinet Secretary for Gender and Culture in Ruto's initial 22-member Cabinet.

However, she was among the 11 Cabinet Secretaries dropped in the July 2024 reshuffle, which came during a period of widespread anti-government protests.

Meanwhile, Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya has appointed Millicent Omanga as a member of the Board of Directors at Kenya Shipyard Limited.

Omanga's tenure began on January 14, 2025, as per the gazette notice.

This marks Omanga's third attempt to secure a role in government under Ruto's administration.

In October 2024, she was appointed as a member of the Nairobi Rivers Commission, chaired by former Starehe MP Bishop Margaret Wanjiru.

However, Omanga declined the position, citing personal reasons.

Her earlier appointment as Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the Ministry of Interior was nullified in June 2023 after the High Court ruled the CAS positions unconstitutional.

In addition to Omanga's appointment, CS Tuya reappointed Maryanne Karanja as a member of the Kenya Shipyard Limited Board for another three-year term.