NAIROBI, Kenya — President William Ruto has reshuffled the senior ranks of government, reassigning two Principal Secretaries in a move that affects the Education and Tourism ministries.
In a presidential action communicated by Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service Felix Koskei on Tuesday, Ambassador Professor Julius Bitok and John Lekakeny Ololtuaa exchanged positions with immediate effect.
Under the changes, Prof. Bitok moves from the State Department for Basic Education in the Ministry of Education to the State Department for Tourism under the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife.
At the same time, Ololtuaa has been transferred from the State Department for Tourism to the State Department for Basic Education.
“His Excellency the President has this afternoon sanctioned re-assignments in the senior ranks of the Executive in the cadre of Principal Secretaries,” the notice signed by Koskei states.
The changes take effect immediately.
Prof. Bitok has served as Principal Secretary for Basic Education, overseeing key reforms in the education sector, including the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), teacher recruitment programmes and school infrastructure development initiatives.
Ololtuaa, meanwhile, has been serving as Principal Secretary for Tourism, where he has been involved in efforts to boost tourist arrivals, market Kenya as a global destination and strengthen the country’s tourism recovery strategy.
The reassignment comes as the government continues to pursue reforms across various sectors, including education, tourism, digital transformation and public service delivery.
While no reasons were provided for the changes, such reassignments are part of the President’s constitutional authority to organize and manage the Executive branch of government.
The swap places Bitok at the helm of a sector that remains one of Kenya’s leading foreign exchange earners, while Ololtuaa takes charge of the Basic Education docket, which oversees millions of learners and thousands of public schools across the country.
The Executive Office of the President said the reassignments take effect immediately.
