President Ruto's Cabinet nominees' biggest political winners

President William Ruto finally revealed the names of the men and women he has chosen to serve in his Cabinet on Tuesday. They will help him to coordinate the work of various government agencies as he begins to carry out campaign platform commitments.

As many had predicted, President Ruto's cabinet is very different from that of his predecessor, former president Uhuru Kenyatta.

The nominations have noticeably favored several of President Ruto's close political allies, and even more so former statesmen who chose to forego running for any legislative seats in the August elections in favor of concentrating their efforts on supporting the now-Head-of-State globally.

President Ruto has also given certain Kenya Kwanza-affiliated lawmakers who failed to win or defend election seats in the legislature cabinet roles.

Of actuality, Simon Chelugui, the former CS for Labour and Social Protection, is the only surviving member of Uhuru's cabinet who would continue to hold the position of Minister under Ruto's rule, albeit with a change in dockets.

Since then, Citizen Digital has created a list of the 12 most notable beneficiaries of President Ruto's proposed Cabinet. As follows:

Mudavadi Musalia

Musalia Mudavadi, the leader of the Amani National Congress (ANC) party, has been appointed prime cabinet secretary (CS) by President Ruto, a position in which he will ostensibly only answer to the head of state and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua.

Members of Raila Odinga's Azimio la Umoja coalition occasionally courted Mudavadi, who did not hold an electoral seat, in the months before the elections in an effort to convince him to defect from Ruto's side and join their cause.

After having a disagreement with Raila in the past, Mudavadi stood his ground and backed Ruto, and his devotion has since been amply rewarded.

Alfred Mutua

Mutua chose to promote Ruto's presidential campaign over Raila's, whom he had briefly supported, after serving as Machakos Governor for two terms. Mutua decided not to run for any elective seat in the Senate or the National Assembly in the most recent elections.

In recognition of his contributions, he has been proposed for the job of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS.

Kithure Kindiki

In order to concentrate on President Ruto's national campaign efforts, former Meru senator Kithiri Kindiki decided to put his governorship aspirations on hold in February.

Many believed that the lawyer by profession would soon leave and join the Azimio camp after being "overlooked" for the running mate position in May in favor of DP Gachagua. However, he remained steadfast, and his leap of faith is expected to be rewarded with the position of Interior CS should the National Assembly approve of his nomination.

Mithika Linturi

Many people were shocked when the then-Meru Senator and the then-Governor Kiraitu Murungi lost to woman representative Kawira Mwangaza because they were two of the most well-known candidates in the August governor's campaign in Meru County.

Early in September, a group of Meru leaders petitioned President Ruto to give Linturi a national position, arguing that the former senator had failed to win the election because he was too busy rallying support for Ruto's campaign rather than his own.

Since Linturi has been proposed to succeed Peter Munya as the Agriculture and Livestock Development CS, their requests appear to have been taken into consideration.

Moses Kuria

Moses Kuria, a former Gatundu South MP, had his sights set on the governorship of Kiambu County during the election, but he and three other candidates were defeated by ex-Senator Wamatangi, who is now the head of the county. Kuria finished last in the competition with only 24,512 votes.

Wamatangi received 348,371 votes, in contrast. Kuria may have taken a sabbatical from politics to pursue his personal interests if Ruto had not won the presidential election, as he intimated on social media, but he has since been nominated for the job of Trade, Investment and Industry CS.

Jumwa Aisha

Former Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa, who finished second to ODM's Gideon Mung'aro in the campaign for governor of Kilifi County with 65,893 votes to his 143,773 votes, will serve as the Public Service, Gender, and Affirmative Action CS in President Ruto's cabinet.

Penina Malonza

Irene Kasulu, the woman representative for Kitui County, was up for reelection in August but UDA challenger Malonza tried to unseat her. Kasulu won with 201,899 votes to Malonza's 78,733 votes.

For the Tourism, Wildlife, and Heritage CS docket, she has been nominated.

Soipan Tuya

Since 2013, Tuya has represented Narok County as the county's female representative. Despite being urged by locals to run for re-election a third time, Tuya distanced herself from claims that she would do so.

The former lawmaker who supported Ruto has been proposed for the role of CS for Environment and Forestry.

Ababu Namwamba

When he formally quit and joined Ruto's Kenya Kwanza in February, the then-foreign affairs CAS Namwamba denied rumors that he would be running for office in the elections in August.

Namwamba disclosed that his decision to support Ruto's presidential campaign was motivated by the ideas that made up the former Deputy President's program for the country. Namwamba was chosen to lead international relations for Ruto's presidential campaign a few days later.

He is currently a candidate for the Youth Affairs, Sports, and Arts CS post.

Simon Chelugui

The sole surviving member of former President Uhuru Kenyatta's cabinet who would remain in Ruto's is Chelugui. The outgoing Cooperatives and SMEs Development CS has been nominated to take over as the Cooperatives and Social Protection CS.

Mvurya Salim

Salim Mvurya, a former governor of Kwale, has been proposed for President Ruto's cabinet to fill the job of Mining CS.

He was among the figures thought to get Cabinet posts if President William Ruto won the presidential elections in August.

Justin Muturi

Former National Assembly Speaker Muturi, who is regarded as ex-president Kenyatta's ally, has been proposed as attorney general in president Ruto's cabinet.

Since 2013, Muturi has served as the house speaker under the sponsorship of the Jubilee party for two terms. However, in April 2022, he broke with the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, putting an end to his bid for the presidency.

Muturi entered the President Ruto-led organization with his Democratic Party (DP), and is now poised to benefit greatly from his strategic choice.