President Uhuru Kenyatta has made changes in the organization of the government on Executive Order 1 of 2020.
According to the document seen, the Executive Office of The Deputy President was abolished and instead put under that of the president.
Lawyer Donald Kipkorir explained that the simple change had far-reaching consequences.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 132 (3) (b) of the constitution, as read with all other enabling laws, I, Uhuru Kenyatta, president and commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, order and direct that;
1.The government shall be organized as set out in this order, that this order contains portfolio responsibilities and changes made in the structure of government
- That this order assigns functions and institutions among ministries and state departments and that this order supersedes Executive Order No. 1 of 2018 (Revised) issued in July 2018,” the document read.
“This innocent looking nomenclature change has huge legal implications. President denotes singularity of power in remember that the Presidency is shared power,” he published on Twitter.
When the duo rose to power in 2013, President Kenyatta established the executive office of the deputy president.
During their first term, the two were running the country together, cosmetically elevating Ruto to a co-president of sorts.
According to the constitution, the national executive comprises the president, the deputy president and the Cabinet.
The new executive order also added the Nairobi Metropolitan Service as a public office making Nairobi now officially under President Kenyatta.
NMS will receive funding for the execution of its mandate from the head of state’s office.
