Kenyan Ministers Locked out by president Rhuto after arriving late to sign performance contracts

NAIROBI,  Kenya, August 1, 2023 - President William Ruto on Tuesday dramatically locked out at least two Cabinet Secretaries from State House in Nairobi after arriving late to sign performance contracts.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and his trade counterpart Moses Kuria were among those locked out after arriving late.

President William Ruto has asked two cabinet secretaries to explain in writing, the reason for missing a State House event.

“I don’t understand why one can miss such an important event which is surrounding their work. For you to miss such an event, you have dismissed yourself,” Ruto said.

The event was to start at about 8 am but the two alongside other Principal Secretaries arrived late.

They were stopped at the gate by security who informed them the event had started and the president was seated there.

Witnesses said they were seen making calls seeking help in vain. Others blamed traffic-jam for their lateness.

Also locked out were a number of Members of Parliament who were invited but arrived late. They included parliamentary departmental committee chairmen.

The event went on in the absence of the officials.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua rebuked the absent officials asking them to keep time.

“Let us follow the leader by keeping time,” he said.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi started signing the contract followed by Attorney General Justine Muturi and Defence CS Aden Duale.

The CS signed their contracts alongside the department PS’.

The move to lock out the officials was not a shock to some who said Ruto was strict on punctuality.

The signing of the agreement is a commitment by the CSs to deliver on their priorities as captured in the Plan.

It is aimed at enhancing the linkage between performance contracts and key performance indicators contained in the program-based budget under implementation by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

CSs will now be tasked with facilitating government programs, policies and delivering services to the citizenry on a value-for-money basis.

Mudavadi said they would formulate a bill that will make it compulsory for all public servants to enter into performance contracts with the government.

The public service performance management Bill, he said, will be the overarching law to anchor performance contracting in public institutions at both levels of government.

“Some government departments have been opting out of performance contracting. We want a law that will not exempt anyone,” he said.

He added that this will also provide a framework for rewarding performance and sanctioning non-performance.