Ruto nominates Mbeere North MP Ruku to replace Muturi at Public Service docket
If Ruku takes up the Cabinet post, he will have to vacate his Mbeere North parliamentary seat.
President William Ruto has nominated Mbeere North MP Geoffrey Ruku as the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes.
If the National Assembly approves his appointment, Ruku will take over from Justin Muturi, who has been removed from the position.
More To Read
The changes were announced on Wednesday in a statement by Chief of Staff Felix Koskei, who emphasised that the move was aimed at strengthening the Executive.
"His Excellency the President has today instituted further changes to the senior ranks of the Executive within Cabinet. By virtue of the Presidential Action, Cabinet is set to achieve its constitutional full strength; a move that bolsters the Administration's capacity to continue to steer Kenya's socio-economic transformation," Koskei stated.
Political journey
Ruku, 45, entered Parliament in 2022 after winning the Mbeere North seat on the Democratic Party (DP) ticket.
He garnered 17,069 votes, defeating three other contenders. His political journey, however, started earlier as he first vied for the seat in 2013 but lost.
In 2017, he made another attempt at elective politics, contesting the Embu Senate seat under the Jubilee Party, but was defeated by Njeru Ndigwa.
Besides politics, Ruku is the founding director of Climate Pal Ltd, a company that runs carbon emissions reduction projects in Kenya.
Ruku pursued a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, graduating in 2002.
He later joined the University of Nairobi, where he obtained a postgraduate Diploma in Diplomacy and International Relations in 2005 and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance in 2009.
While in university, he served as the chairman of the Mbeere University Students’ Association.
The MP has also spoken in past interviews about his early leadership roles, having been a school captain both in primary school and at Siakago Boys High School.
Pending by-election
With his nomination, attention now shifts to whether Ruku will accept the role. The Constitution, under Section 13, Article VI, prohibits MPs from holding other government offices unless they resign from Parliament.
If Ruku takes up the Cabinet post, he will have to vacate his Mbeere North parliamentary seat.
The law further mandates the Speaker of the National Assembly to officially declare a vacancy in the constituency within 21 days of the seat falling vacant.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) must then organise a by-election within 90 days to fill the position.
Currently, the IEBC is not fully constituted, raising concerns about the management of a potential by-election.
The process of filling key positions in the commission is ongoing, with oral interviews for shortlisted candidates for the chairperson and member positions beginning on Monday, March 24, 2025.
The IEBC selection panel started the interviews with candidates for the chairperson role, with the process running until Wednesday.
The completion of this recruitment will determine whether the commission is in a position to conduct a by-election should Ruku resign from the National Assembly to take up the Cabinet role.
Top Stories Today
