President Ruto Fires KICC Chair Irungu Nyakera

President William Ruto has fired Irungu Nyakera as the chairman of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). 

Nyakera was fired through a special issue gazette notice dated April 1 and replaced immediately with Samuel Waweru Mwangi.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 43 (1) (a) of the Tourism Act, as read together with section 51 (1) of the Interpretation and General Provisions Act, 1, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, appoint- Samuel Waweru Mwangi to be the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 1st April, 2025.

“The appointment of Irungu Nyakera is revoked. Dated the 1st of April 2025.”

While reacting to his sacking, Nyakera wrote, ” I feel special to be fired through a special issue.  They could not wait for Friday.”

Also Read: Ruto and Uhuru Hold Night Meeting

Irungu Nyakera Says He Won’t Attend Ruto’s Mt Kenya Tour

This comes after Nyakera declared that he will be skipping President William Ruto’s highly anticipated Mount Kenya tour.

In a statement on Sunday, March 30, Nyakera stated that he would be otherwise engaged with school work at Oxford University.

“I will not be present during the President’s upcoming visit to Mt Kenya as I am still in school at Oxford University. That said, I want to share my message with the people and leaders of Mt Kenya,” he stated. 

He went on to share his message with the people and leaders of Mt. Kenya, asking them to focus on development—not politics—during President William Ruto’s tour.

“In the last election, Mt Kenya voted for development and development, as we all know, comes through the Office of the President,” Irungu said.

“History has taught us harsh lessons. When Mzee Jomo Kenyatta visited Kisumu with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and was received with hostility, development in that region came to a halt for decades.”

Also Read: Court Orders Govt to Pay Company Ksh 39M for Terminating KICC Contract

Former KICC Chair Criticizing Govt

At the same time, he drew similarities during former President Uhuru’s final term, stating that Mt Kenya suffered because they allowed politics to override cooperation and watched development bypass them.

“Let us not repeat the same mistakes. A time for politics will come—but it is not now, and it is certainly not next week. This is a time to engage constructively, to secure what we voted for, and to prioritize the needs of our people,” he added.

On March 25, Nyakera indirectly hit out at the broad-based government, claiming that there was an “entitled group” that arrived late to the table and now wants to rearrange the seats, forgetting that ” they built the house they are now comfortably enjoying.”

Meanwhile, on March 18, he made a statement that he had listened to Kenyans and their complaints regarding SHA.

According to Nyakera, SHA was supposed to improve healthcare, not make it worse.

“If NHIF could and was serving them, how could a more expensive “improvement” possibly be worse?” he posed.

“Nobody wants SHA to fail – those benefits nobody – Kenyans just want SHA to work, less lectures and excuses from government. Just solutions.”