VZCZCXRO0664
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHNR #1126/01 1201228
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291228Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5650
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0062
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 5952
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 5249
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2787
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 2028
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 2803
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 2725
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001126 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV KDEM KE
SUBJECT: KIBAKI, ODINGA AGREE ON KEY CIVIL SERVICE 
APPOINTMENTS 
 
REF: NAIROBI 1041 
 
------- 
 SUMMARY 
 ------- 
 
¶1.  President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga have agreed on 
the appointment of high-level civil service appointments for 
the new grand coalition government.  On April 22, President 
Kibaki announced the names of Permanent Secretaries (PS) for 
the 42 Cabinet positions, as well as 23 Secretaries for major 
departments of certain ministries.  Many are holdovers from 
the previous government, but there are some new faces.  Six 
PSs from the previous government were retired, but another 
six -- including controversial Head of Civil Service Francis 
Muthaura -- were retained despite exceding the mandatory 
retirement age of 55.  This has led to speculation that a 
second round of appointments could follow in the months to 
come.  Our analysis of names shows that 25 of the 42 PSs have 
PNU sympathies, while the remaining 17 are ODM-affiliated. 
The ethnic distribution of these positions is diverse.  The 
appointment of PSs was expected to be a contentious issue 
(reftel A), so the quick agreement is good news.  Kibaki and 
Odinga continue to discuss appointments to parastatal 
companies and ambassadorial positions, though these are 
unlikely to be announced as a package.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Continuity, with new blood, too 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga have agreed on 
the appointment of high-level civil service appointments for 
the new grand coalition government.  On April 22, President 
Kibaki announced the names of Permanent Secretaries (PS) for 
the 42 Cabinet positions, as well as 23 Secretaries for major 
departments of certain ministries.  The appointment of PSs 
and Secretaries is important because they are the lead 
operational officers in government.  They are responsible for 
policy implementation and the day-to-day management of 
government ministries, departments, and corporations, and 
wield enormous influence.  Twenty four of 31 permanent 
secretaries from the previous government were retained, 
 
SIPDIS 
although ten were reassigned.  Six PSs from the prior 
government, having exceeded the mandatory retirement age of 
55, were retired.  Interestingly, Kibaki retained six PSs and 
appointed two new PSs who are older than 55.  One of the six 
who was retained despite being of retirement age is Head of 
Civil Service Francis Muthaura.  Expectations were that 
Muthaura would be retired for his staunch defense of 
presidential prerogatives during the Cabinet negotiations. 
Some contacts have concluded that Kibaki did not want to 
force Muthaura into retirement for fear it be interpreted as 
a concession to ODM, but they expect that Muthaura will 
resign or be replaced within the next year. 
 
¶3.  Academia was the largest source of new PS and Secretary 
appointments, in keeping with past practice.  A number of 
appointments were made on political grounds, such as the 
placement of Mohamed Isahakia as PS of the Prime Minister's 
Office.  Isahakia was a key figure in the Cabinet 
negotiations. The new Ministry of Labor PS, Beatrice Naliaka 
Wasike, was appointed as a reward for having been bumped from 
a promised nominated MP slot that President Kibaki gave 
instead to Ford Kenya leader Musikari Kombo.   Likewise ODM-K 
appointed the new Secretary for Sports, Daniel Maanzo, as 
compensation for having failed to obtain a nominated MP slot. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Political and Ethnic Affiliations 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  An analysis of political tendencies of PSs indicate that 
25 lean towards PNU, while 17 are seen as pro-ODM.  Holdover 
PSs tend to be PNU supporters, but there are a number of 
retained PSs with ODM loyalties.  In slotting PSs into 
ministries, the major ministries controlled by PNU (Internal 
Security, Defence, Justice, Finance, and Energy) all received 
PSs perceived to be pro-PNU.  Two of ODM's major ministries 
(Local Government and the Prime Minister's Office) are 
 
NAIROBI 00001126  002 OF 002 
 
 
likewise staffed with ODM-leaning PSs, while the third is 
staffed by PS perceived to be pro-PNU. Otherwise, it appears 
that the mix of Ministers and PSs is heterogeneous; 11 PNU 
ministers will work with an ODM-leaning PS, while 12 ODM 
ministers will work with a PNU-leaning PS. 
 
¶5. Looking at PSs from an ethnic viewpoint,  GEMA (Kikuyu, 
Embu, Meru) is most highly represented, with 12 PSs. 
Kalenjin/Maasai are second with eight, while Luhya have six; 
Muslims (Somali, Arabs, etc) have five PSs.  There are four 
Luo PSs, while the remaining PS slots are distributed among 
western Kenyan Bantus (Kisii/Kuria) and Coastal groups (Taita 
and Mijikenda). 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6.  The quick resolution of what was expected to be a sticky 
issue is a positive step.  In contrast to the Cabinet 
appointments, no major objections to the slate of PSs  have 
been voiced by the parties.  Several of the retirement-aged 
PSs who were reappointed to put their respective ministries 
in order and may leave in the not-too-distant future.  This 
will pave the way for a subsequent round of PS appointments. 
Discussions are ongoing regarding appointments to head 
parastatal corporations and ambassadorial posts.  There is no 
clear indication when these may be resolved. End Comment 
RANNEBERGER