NAIROBI, Kenya<\/strong> \u2014 President William Ruto has reassigned two Principal Secretaries in changes aimed at filling a vacancy in the Petroleum docket and ensuring continuity in government operations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The appointments were announced Thursday in a statement from the Executive Office of the President under \u201cNotification of Presidential Action No. IX of 2026.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The changes were made pursuant to Article 155(4) of the Constitution.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Kello Harsama, who had been serving as Principal Secretary for the State Department for ASALs and Regional Development, was reassigned to the State Department for Petroleum.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n He replaces Mohamed Liban, who resigned in April 2026.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In a statement, Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei said the changes were intended to ensure continuity in the administration and coordination of government functions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The Petroleum docket has faced scrutiny in recent months following investigations into the fuel supply chain and the Government-to-Government (G2G) oil import arrangement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Liban resigned alongside Kenya Pipeline Company Managing Director Joe Sang and Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority Director General Daniel Kiptoo Bargoria amid controversy surrounding allegations of substandard fuel imports.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Harsama now takes charge of a department responsible for petroleum policy, fuel supply management, and oil sector regulation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n President Ruto also designated Caroline W. Karugu, the Principal Secretary for East African Community Affairs, as Acting Principal Secretary for ASALs and Regional Development.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n She will serve in the acting role in addition to her current responsibilities.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The reshuffle comes as political activity intensifies ahead of the 2027 General Election.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Analysts say administrative changes within government are increasingly being viewed through a political lens as the President seeks to maintain support across key regions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Some observers argue that frequent reshuffles help the administration manage internal political interests and maintain alliances within government.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Others, however, warn that repeated changes in senior government positions could affect policy continuity and administrative stability.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Political analyst David Monda previously told the Daily Nation that constant changes in Cabinet and Principal Secretary positions may create uncertainty within government operations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The latest appointments are expected to fuel further debate over the government\u2019s administrative and political strategy ahead of 2027.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Observers say additional changes within government could still occur in the coming months as President Ruto continues to reorganize his administration.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The appointments take effect immediately.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ruto Reassigns PSs in Petroleum Docket Shake-Up NAIROBI, Kenya \u2014 President William Ruto has reassigned two Principal Secretaries in changes aimed at filling a vacancy in the Petroleum docket and ensuring continuity in government operations. The appointments were announced Thursday in a statement from the Executive Office of the President under \u201cNotification of Presidential Action […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":160,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[41,40,38,39],"class_list":["post-99","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-must-read","tag-new-ps-appointments","tag-petroleum-docket-shake-up","tag-principal-secretaries","tag-ps-reshuffle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jambo24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jambo24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jambo24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jambo24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jambo24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jambo24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155,"href":"https:\/\/jambo24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions\/155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jambo24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jambo24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jambo24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jambo24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Harsama Moved to Petroleum<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Karugu Assigned Additional Role<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Political Context<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
More Changes Expected<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n