President William Ruto, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and several Cabinet Secretaries have made a series of appointments and reappointments to government boards and councils, reshaping leadership in institutions responsible for military veterans, social protection, scientific research, healthcare training, education and media. The changes were published through Gazette Notices dated August 28, 2026, with most of the appointments taking effect immediately and running for three years. Ruto’s appointment of retired Major General William Karisa Shume to the Advisory Committee on Military Veterans is for four years. The appointments are statutory board and council changes rather than a single government programme. The officials will be responsible for providing oversight, strategic direction and governance to the institutions to which they have been appointed.
President Ruto appointed retired Major General William Karisa Shume as the Non-Executive Chairperson of the Advisory Committee on Military Veterans. Shume will serve for four years from August 28, 2026. His appointment was made under Section 10(2)(a) of the Military Veterans Act. The committee advises on policies and programmes concerning military veterans and their dependants. Shume takes over the chairmanship following the conclusion of the tenure of retired Major General Lucas Kyonze Tumbo.
Ruto also appointed Cecilia Mbaka as Non-Executive Chairperson of the National Board for Social Protection for a three-year term beginning August 28. The board operates under the Social Protection Act and is responsible for oversight within Kenya’s social protection framework, including matters relating to vulnerable beneficiaries and social welfare programmes.
Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi made several appointments affecting Kenya’s science and research institutions. Mudavadi appointed Dr Thomas Kiprono Serem as Non-Executive Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the National Research Fund (NRF) for three years. He also appointed Wakiuru Njuguna, Dr Fidelis Mwaka Muia, Dr Samuel Tiriongo and Prof Jane Catherina Ngila as members of the National Research Fund Board of Trustees. In another appointment, Davidson M. Mwaisaka, Dr Michael N. Walekhwa and Joel Onditi were named members of the board of the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI). Their terms will also run for three years. The appointments affect institutions responsible for supporting and coordinating scientific research, innovation and technology development in the country.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Bare Duale reappointed Paul Kaino Cheboi, Eunice Wangui Karanja, Hardlyne Lusui and Eng. Joseph Ouma Atonga as members of the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) Board. The four officials received another three-year term beginning August 28, 2026.
In the education sector, Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba appointed Abdi Mouild Abdi as Non-Executive Chairperson of the Council of the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) for three years. Ogamba also appointed Daniel Njiru Mugendi and Fred Simiyu Barasa as members of the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) Placement Board, also for three years. The appointments affect institutions involved in training healthcare workers, special-needs education and the placement of students in universities and colleges.
The appointments also extended to the media and communications sector. Information, Communications and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo Gitau reappointed Ndungu Guchu, Jimmy Munyao Mauta and Dinah Samikwo to the Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board for three years beginning September 1, 2026. Kabogo also appointed Mashati Meitamei to the Council of the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC) for a three-year term beginning August 28. The appointments give the affected officials oversight roles in institutions involved in government publications and media training.
The Gazette appointments largely concern the governance and oversight structures of public institutions. Board and council members are responsible for functions set out in the laws establishing their respective organisations and do not necessarily take over the institutions’ day-to-day administration. The appointments also demonstrate that different government officials exercised statutory powers under the laws governing individual institutions. The President made appointments to bodies under his mandate, while Mudavadi and Cabinet Secretaries made appointments to institutions falling within their respective portfolios.
Most of the new appointments and reappointments run for three years, while Shume’s tenure as chairperson of the Military Veterans Committee runs for four years. The August 28 Gazette Notice therefore represents a broad round of changes to the leadership of public institutions rather than a single restructuring exercise. For the affected boards, the new terms now place the appointed officials in formal oversight roles as the institutions continue implementing their respective mandates.