RUTO SANCTIONS NEW APPOINTMENTS IN VARIOUS STATE PARASTATALS

President William Ruto has sanctioned appointments in various state parastatals. In a gazette notice dated August 15, 2025, Ruto made new appointments to the Commission of University Education (CUE) and the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation (JKF).
Among the appointees was Professor James Onyango Owino, who was picked to be the non-executive chairperson of the Commission for University Education, a post he will hold for the next three years.
“IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by section 6 (1) (a) of the Universities Act, 2012, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, appoint— James Onyango Owino (PROF.) to be the Non-Executive Chairperson of the Commission for University Education, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 15th August, 2025,” the gazette notice reads.
CUE is a body established by an Act of Parliament, the Universities Act, No. 42 of 2012, as the successor to the Commission for Higher Education (CHE).
The Commission was established to make better provisions for the advancement of quality university education in Kenya, which entails regulating and accrediting universities and universities academic programmes, among other functions.
President Ruto has also appointed John Antira Ketora to be non-executive chairperson of the board of the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation.
Established in 1966, JKF is a parastatal under the Ministry of Education, with a mandate of serving a key national development objective, namely, the provision of educational materials that complement national development goals of self-reliance and industrialization. Ketora will serve in the new JKF post until August 2028.
At the same time, Ruto reappointed Retired Vice Chief of Defence Forces Lieutenant General Levi Franklin Mghalu to be the non-executive chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Kenya National Shipping Line for a period of three years.
The Head of State has further initiated the process to recruit a new chairperson and members of the National Land Commission (NLC), ahead of the expiry of the current team’s term in November 2025.