President Ruto makes two new State appointments

President William Ruto on Tuesday evening made two new appointments to the Executive following the approval of the Public Service Commission (PSC).

According to Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, the fresh appointments are set to augment Kenya and President Ruto’s regional as well as continental outreach.

The Head of State appointed Amb. Lazarus Amayo as the Special Envoy of the African Union Championship for Institutional Reforms, and named former Amani National Congress (ANC) party Secretary General Simon Gikuru as the State House Deputy Comptroller.

Koskei noted that Amb. Amayo’s appointment was made in order to “support the Ministry of Foreign & Diaspora Affairs in steering the President's unique mandate as the African Union Champion for Institutional Reform.”

“The Special Envoy is expected to play a critical role in driving AU's institutional reforms in liaison with the State Department for Foreign Affairs and the African Union institutions,” he stated.

Amayo is the outgoing Ambassador of Kenya to the United States based in Washington DC., and has previously held several senior public positions, among them; Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the United Nations (2018-2020), High Commissioner of Kenya to the United Kingdom (2014-2018), the Permanent Representative of Kenya to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Commonwealth Organization.

He also previously served as the Director for Europe and Commonwealth Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (2010-2014), High Commissioner of Kenya to Zambia and Malawi and Permanent Representative to COMESA (2006-2010), Kenya's High Commissioner to India with concurrent accreditation to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Singapore (1999-2004).

Mr. Gikuru, on the other hand, is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with over a decade of experience in law, management, strategic planning, policy formulation, financial administration, consultancy, logistics, and conflict resolution.

He has previously worked as Managing Associate at Chege Kamau & Company Advocates and the Group Managing Director of Amoo Holdings International Limited, a regional logistics firm that had operations in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and DRC.

The incoming State House Deputy Comptroller holds a Master of Law (LL.M) degree from the University of Nairobi, a postgraduate diploma in law from the Kenya School of Law and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from Makerere University, Uganda.

He has also undertaken postgraduate training in Global Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the internationally acclaimed Manning School of Business, University of Massachusetts.

“With the immense expertise and experience of the newly appointed officials, the Head of State and Government is confident that the two public officers will contribute enormously towards the realization of our shared aspirations for a fair, just, and equitable nation with shared prosperity for all, as espoused in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA),” added Koskei.