Ruto Fires Ally From NTSA, Makes New Appointment
Noor was terminated just four months after his appointment to chair the board of directors at NTSA.
Marvin Chege 
President William Ruto on Friday, June 9 revoked the appointment of Aden Noor Ali as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
Noor was terminated just four months after his appointment to chair the board of directors at NTSA.
The President moved to replace him with Dr Manoj Shah, who will serve as NTSA board chair for three years, effective June 9.
Aden Noor Ali during a past swearing-in. /CAPITAL GROUP
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 6 (1) (a) of the National Transport and Safety Authority Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, appoint Manoj Shah (Dr.) to be the chairperson of the Board of Directors of the National Transport and Safety Authority, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 9th June 2023,” the Gazette Notice sent to newsrooms read.
The immediate former NTSA board chair vied unsuccessfully for the Mandera gubernatorial position in the August 2022 elections.
Prior to the elections, Ali, an ally of President Ruto in the northeastern region, also served as a member of the Transport Licensing Appeals Board.
Other changes at NTSA saw the appointments of Nimo Omar Haji, Charles Nyabuti, and Simon Kalekem to the Board revoked.
Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen appointed Johnson Losilian, Paul Posho, and Lilian Nyabonyi Mogendi to be members of the NTSA Board of Directors for three years, effective June 9.
The changes come amidst concerns over NTSA's capacity to manage the transport sector, with calls for the board to be disbanded over issues such as the recent rise in the number of road accidents among others.
On Tuesday, April 18, Ruto's Cabinet issued immediate directives in response to the spike in road accidents across the country.
During the Cabinet meeting chaired by the Head of State, it was noted with concern the continued increase in crashes along major Kenyan roads which it attributed to human error.
As a result, Ruto's cabinet directed National Police Service (NPS) and NTSA to take action by increasing surveillance and cracking down on rogue motorists breaking traffic rules and endangering their passengers as well as pedestrians.
The following day, Murkomen moved to immediately ban from the roads school vans, buses, and matatus that are unroadworthy.
He further ordered that school transportation should be allowed between 5 am and 10 pm as outlined in the Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2017.
Wreckage of the matatu that was involved in an accident near Delamere farm in Naivasha along the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway. /STANDARD DIGITAL
Miscellaneous Appointments
President Ruto also appointed Jacob Kahiu to be the chairperson of the Tea Board of Kenya. Kahiu will serve in the role for a period of three years.
He will take over from Kiarie Mburu whose appointment has been revoked.
“I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, appoint Jacob Kamau Kahiu to be the chairperson of the Tea Board of Kenya, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 9th June 2023. The appointment of David Kiarie Mburu (Dr.) is revoked,” the notice read.
Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung'u appointed Josephine Eboko and Faith Chirchir to be a member and secretary, respectively, of the Capital Markets Tribunal, for a period of three years.
