Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has defied a directive from the Head of Public Service, Felix Koskei, which called for the relocation of his office to the old Treasury Building.
In a memo circulated by Mr Koskei last week, President Ruto’s trusted lieutenant initiated changes to the addresses of various ministries following a recent government reorganisation.
The memo specifically outlined Mr Mudavadi’s office to move from its current location at the Railways Building.
However, Mr Mudavadi, who has also been assigned the foreign affairs docket, has firmly declared that his office will remain at the current location.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs remains at the Railways Headquarters,” said Mr Mudavadi on his official X account.
Mr Koskei’s memo also instructed the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Performance, and Delivery Management, Moses Kuria, to relocate to the Kenya Railways building off Haile Selassie Avenue, leading to confusion.
Mr Kuria had been operating from the Two Rivers Mall since taking up the Trade docket. The Ministry’s official address is at Teleposta Towers.
This confusion regarding the new office addresses is expected to test Ruto’s administration. It remains to be seen who will yield first between President Ruto’s trusted man, Mr Mudavadi, and Mr Kuria, who is seen as an important figure within the regime.
In a letter from Kibisu Kabatesi, a long-serving spokesman for Mr Mudavadi and the current handler of public communication at the PCS office, it was stressed that no public servant, aside from the president, has the authority to allocate ministerial locations or portfolios.
“Such actions are misguided and tantamount to usurping the function belonging to the head of state. Unless Executive Order No 1, which outlines the functions of cabinet secretaries, is revoked by the president, the status quo will remain,” he stated.
This recent development highlights divisions among the executive members. However, Mr Kuria played down any differences between him and Mr Mudavadi.
“Contrary to media reports today, there is absolutely no tug of war between myself and my senior and close friend, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi. The PCS will continue operating from Railways Headquarters, and I will continue to operate from Harambee House,” he said on X.
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