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As a rugby player for the University of Nairobi’s Mean Machine, Musalia Mudavadi was nicknamed ‘Phantom’. A winger in his days, Mudavadi was known for his speed, raw physique and directness, critical ingredients for any rugby player.  But wingers are hardly known for dictating play, controlling the game’s tempo and making critical decisions such as whether to go for a lineout or conversion. That is more often a preserve of the more quick-handed fly-halfs, in rugby parlance.

But in President William Ruto’s government, Mudavadi has emerged as the fly-half, the Mr Fix-It and the go-to guy in times of challenges. A super CS of sorts, if you like.

Saturday’s announcement by President Ruto that he had assigned Mudavadi and two other Cabinet Secretaries to serve in acting capacities across three vacant ministries only helped entrench this perception.

The statement, signed by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, stated that Mudavadi would now serve as the acting CS for Information, Communication and the Digital Economy. His Environment counterpart, Aden Duale, was assigned the Agriculture and Livestock Development docket, in an acting capacity, while Salim Mvurya, who was recently appointed Sports CS, will meanwhile also be the CS for Investment, Trade, and Industry.

“The Head of State has assigned the vacant ministerial portfolios to Mudavadi, Duale, and Mvurya,” Koskei said.

The three will serve in the vacant ministries, pending parliamentary vetting and approval of President Ruto’s nominees earlier this month, he added, suggesting that they would step in for Mutahi Kagwe, nominee for Agriculture and Livestock Development Ministry, Lee Kinyanjui for Investment, Trade, and Industry, and William Kabogo for Information, Communication and the Digital Economy, pending their vetting and, barring any surprises, approval to serve in the cabinet.

Critical dockets

Mudavadi’s appointment to act as the ICT CS is besides his official position as the Prime Cabinet Secretary and also CS for Foreign Affairs. Prior to the president appointing Kipchumba Murkomen as the Interior CS, Mudavadi had also acted in the position, a first in Kenya for a CS to serve as both the Interior CS and Foreign Affairs concurrently. 

Besides the three positions, Mudavadi has also been quietly serving as the CS in charge of Gender since the cabinet reshuffle mid this year which saw all CSs sent packing save for him. When the cabinet was reconstituted days later, bringing on board four new CSs from opposition leader Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), he never filled the docket for Gender CS, instead tasking Mudavadi to assume the role.

By virtue of these positions, Mudavadi is currently controlling close to Sh60 billion budget in the current financial year 2024-2025, besides the rumoured close to Sh10 billion reportedly set aside for Raila’s African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship campaigns ahead of the February 2025 vote.

By virtue of his role as the Foreign Affairs CS, Mudavadi is spearheading Raila’s charge for the coveted position with the veteran opposition leader emerging as the frontrunner in the race.

As the Prime Cabinet Secretary, Mudavadi is also in charge of the Council of Principal Secretaries, which meets once every two months.

According to political analyst Dr Martin Oloo of the University of Nairobi, Mudavadi’s multiple roles in the cabinet only goes a long way to illustrate the president’s confidence in him.

“Let us accept the fact that in Ruto’s scheme of things, Musalia as the Prime Cabinet Secretary is always the guy to step in whenever there are vacancies in the cabinet. Remember when Ruto sent packing his entire cabinet at the height of the demonstrations earlier this year, it was Mudavadi who took charge of all ministries. It shows the trust and the confidence the president has in him,” says Dr Oloo. 

Besides being Ruto’s go-to guy in times of challenges, Mudavadi is the president’s biblical John the Baptist, the ascetic Jewish prophet known in Christianity who foretold the birth of Jesus, preached about God’s Final Judgment and baptised repentant followers in preparation for it.

No off-days

The PCS is not without his detractors.

A former CS who was affected by the cabinet reshuffle has a different opinion.

“He is a Yes-man and that’s why he is always put in those positions as if there are no other qualified Kenyans to serve in the dockets,” he told People Daily on condition of anonymity for fear of antagonising the establishment.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is also on record branding the current CSs, Mudavadi included, as cowards who cannot tell the president the truth.

“I was the only one who could tell him the uncomfortable truth, none of them can, they only say what he (Ruto) wants to hear,” said Gachagua.

In January this year, Mudavadi made a surprise visit to Bondo, Raila’s hometown, with a surprise message for locals that good news in the offing.

“Soon we will surprise you with some very important and pleasant news,” Mudavadi revealed.

A month later, President Ruto and Raila travelled to Uganda to meet President Yoweri Museveni, catching the whole country by surprise. Keen political observers were however quick to draw a link between Mudavadi’s message in Bondo and the Ruto-Museveni meeting, suggesting that a political handshake between the two hitherto sworn rivals could be in the offing.

This would come to pass sooner than expected when the government announced its plans to front Raila for the post of African Union Chairman (AUC).

“I never expected the workload in that office when I took up my appointment in Musalia’s office,” revealed a technocrat based at Mudavadi’s Railway headquarters offices who is not authorised to comment on his boss’ affairs.

“The guy works 24/7, today he is in Baku, Azerbaijan leading Kenya’s delegation to the Climate Summit, two days later, we are back in the country holding security meetings with top regional administrators and security chiefs, the next day we are in Burundi campaigning for Raila’s AUC bid, no weekends, no off-days,” he adds.