Ruto's man gets chairmanship of two state corporation

President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi. [PCS]

When former Eldoret East MP Joseph Kipchumba Lagat received his first appointment as chair of the National Mining Corporation in October 2024, it seemed like a straightforward reward for loyalty.

But last week’s news that he now also chairs the Kenya Wildlife Service Board has crystallised what critics call a pattern of recycling faces while millions of qualified Kenyans rot at home.

Lagat’s dual occupancy of two of the country’s strategic parastatal chairs — one managing billions in mineral wealth, the other guarding our natural heritage — has re-ignited debate about President William Ruto’s narrowing circle of patronage.

The Mining Corporation appointment came via Gazette Notice No. 14263 on October 4, 2024. Sixteen months later, Gazette Notice No. 1436, dated February 16, 2026, handed him KWS.

The contrast with Kenya’s job market is glaring. A 2024 ILO report revealed nearly 40 per cent of gig economy workers hold STEM degrees — doctors, engineers, and architects reduced to online micro-tasking for survival.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has previously warned against holding multiple public offices.

While non-executive board chairs are considered part-time, governance watchdogs argue that accumulating such roles sends the wrong signal to thousands of Kenyans who cannot secure even a single public position.

Lawyer Peter Wena said the dual appointment is morally wrong and Lagat should have declined one offer.

“In Kenya, we have discovered a new economic theory that one man can occupy two boardrooms while a million graduates can’t find one door,” he said.

However, city lawyer Abel Nabutola has defended the appointments.

“Lagat brings public administration experience,” he argued.