President William Ruto was on Saturday. May 13, pressured to intervene after Evelyn Cheluget replaced Alexander Muteshi as the Director General of Immigration Services at the Interior Ministry.
In an in-house memo leaked to the public, Alexander Muteshi, who served as the director of counter-terrorism at the National Intelligence Service (NIS), indicated that the changes would be effected from Monday, May 15.
The outgoing DG, indicated that he was proceeding on leave, urging the staff to accord the new boss all the support in her role.
Muteshi was appointed in 2020 and replaced by retired Major General Gordon Kihalangwa, appointed as a PS by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“Please accord the new Director General all the necessary support. I thank you all for the support you accorded me during my tenure as the Director,” he stated.
Following the announcements, a section of leaders in Azimio and other political parties called on the Head of State to intervene over the changes lamenting over the diversity of appointments made by the administration.
“It’s official we no longer have a country called Kenya,” Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina commented.
“What a shame,” Thirdway Alliance Leader Ekuru Aukot added.
The appointment also followed a statement from Bishops of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), who opined that government appointments were biased.
“There is glaring tribalism and cronyism, particularly with regard to public appointments. There is an apparent lack of accountability and transparency in our institutions. This is not acceptable.
“Let all institutions and government agencies be impartial and efficient, and not simply beholden to political influence, but serve all Kenyans with impartiality,” read the statement in part.
Notably, the immigration department is under the Ministry of Interior, led by Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, with Julius Bitok serving as the Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizens Services.
