Kibaki appoints new Government Spokesman

By Cyrus Ombati
 
NAIROBI; KENYA: An advisor to Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has been appointed the new Government Spokesman.
 
President Kibaki appointed Mr Muthui Kariuki, who has been the VP’s media and communications advisor as the new spokesman in a letter dated November 22.
 
The letter was signed by head of public service Francis Kimemia. “I am pleased to inform you that His Excellence the President has approved your appointment as public communications secretary/Spokesperson with immediate effect,” said part of the letter.
 
Mr Kariuki replaces Dr Alfred Mutua who resigned in September to join politics. Mutua wants to be a governor of Machakos County.
 
Kariuki is a seasoned communications expert and had stuck with Kibaki for long after he missed to be named the head of Presidential Press Service in 2003, a position he had been tipped to take.
 
The Office of Government Spokesman and Public Communications Secretary (Cabinet Office) is usually taken to be one of the most powerful positions in the government as it operates from the Office of the President.
 
The position was created under the Kibaki regime to transmit information from the government to the public and Mutua was the first to be named to the post.