Ruto Appoints Isaac Mwaura As Govt Spokesperson

President William Ruto has appointed former Senator Isaac Mwaura as government spokesperson.

Mwaura was appointed by the Head of State on Wednesday, October 4.

The appointment was announced by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei and takes effect immediately.

He will be deputized by former K24 and KTN News anchor, Mwanaisha Chidzuga and Gabriel Muthuma.

The appointments end a long wait for a government spokesperson who is charged with helping the President communicate his policies to Kenyans following periods of confusion in terms of disseminating information.

United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General Cleophas Malala had on Monday, July 31 called for the expedition of the appointment of a government spokesperson to effectively communicate the projects being implemented by President William Ruto's government.

Addressing stakeholders during the ICT Ministry's launch of One Year Status Report at Serena Hotel, the former Kakamega Senator argued that there is a gap in terms of effective communication on government developments, arguing that the Kenya Kwanza regime has accomplished plenty in terms of projects.

He termed the lack of a government spokesperson as the biggest blow to President Ruto's government and called for recruitment for the highly-coveted position to be finalised.

"The issue of dissemination of information regarding government policy and development project; Bwana CS there has been a gap in communicating what the government is doing. We have a lot of projects that the government is doing that have impacted positively society but communication has been missing. 

"I think it is a result of you not taking that role of disseminating information not only in your ministry but also in other ministries. Bwana CS, I would like to urge you to expedite the recruitment of a government spokesperson because we don't have one who will be disseminating that information to the masses," Malala urged.

Speaking at the same event, ICT Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owalo noted that the recruitment process of the next government spokesperson was at its conclusion, having been handled by the Public Service Commission (PSC).

He explained that the recruitment was delayed due to a technical hitch which has since been addressed and that in an earlier exercise, PSC failed to get a suitable person.

Isaac Mwaura was among those who missed out on appointments to Principal Secretary (PS) positions after he lost the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party nominations for the Ruiru parliamentary seat ahead of the August 2022 General Election.

He had been President Ruto's ally for quite a while and inched very very close to serving in his government when he was appointed as Chief Administrative Secretary at the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary.

However, his appointment was quashed alongside 49 others following a court ruling that declared the positions unconstitutional, having been barred from discharging his duties despite being sworn in.

Chidzuga, a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) politician, on the other end, is the wife of Tana River senator, Danson Mungatana. She recently joined Radio 47 under Cape Media, a newcomer radio station which went on a raiding spree of star journalists.

She lost the Matuga Constituency parliamentary race to Tandaza Kassim Sawa of the Amani National Congress in the 2022 General Election. 

Mwaura now fills the shoes of Rtd Col. Cyrus Oguna who left the position after serving for two years to join Siaya County Government as Chief of Staff.

How Much Does A Government Spokesperson Earn?

Successful candidates will earn a monthly salary of Ksh970,000 including a basic salary ranging between Ksh292,000 and Ksh576,000.

They are also entitled to a house allowance of Ksh100,000 a month, entertainment allowance of Ksh100,000 a month, extraneous allowance of Ksh100,000, and domestic servants allowance of Ksh100,000, all coming to a total of Ksh400,000.

Also, the officeholder receives a leave allowance according to the existing rates in the Civil service. Other benefits include medical cover and 30 working days of leave per financial year.

In total, a government Spokesperson can earn a monthly salary of at least Ksh692,765 and at most Ksh976,120 per month.