President William Ruto has named a list of 11 Cabinet Nominees. The nominations come in response to calls for competent individuals to drive the government’s agenda. The Ministry Information, Communications and The Digital Economy has Dr. Margaret Nyambura Ndung’u as Eliud Owalo’s nominated replacement.
Dr. Ndung’u describes herself as a researcher, Digital Policy and Innovation Expert. Her bio states she is an Information Scientist with over 20 years of work experience in research and projects’ management gained from non-governmental organizations, private sector and academia.
Margaret Ndung’u Education Background
The MoICT CS nominee holds a PhD in Information Systems from the University of Nairobi (UoN). Her doctoral thesis explored how new technologies contribute to the quality of life for low-income households in Kenya, integrating insights from both information systems and development studies disciplines.
She holds an MBA in Management Science also from UoN. For her undergraduate, Dr. Ndung’u studied BSc. in Information Sciences at the Moi University. She did her Postdoctoral Fellowship at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), in Pretoria, South Africa.
She has worked on national and regional projects funded by IDRC, Worldbank, NEPAD, International Trade Center and Vodaphone among others. In the past, she has consulted for Kenya ICT Authority (ICTA) on ICT4D.
Currently, she is the lead Kenya Partner for Research ICT Africa, where she oversees, manages and coordinates country research projects. In addition, Dr. Ndung’u lectures part time at the School of Computing and Informatics, University of Nairobi.
Dr Ndung’u is also the Senior Research Manager at the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (GDIP). She has served the Senior Internet Governance Expert at the Policy and Regulation Initiative of Digital Africa (PRIDA), a project of the African Union Commission. She is a member of the Policy Network on Meaningful Access, a Multi-stakeholder Working Group of the Global IGF and participated in the 2022 Internet Governance Forum Expert Group Meeting.
She co-founded and serves as co-executive director of the Network of African Women in Cybersecurity (NAWC). She also contributes to the Editorial Board of Londa, a report focusing on digital rights and inclusion in Africa. Her research interest is in ICT innovations and development. She has published in journals and books on use and application of ICTs in promoting development for enhanced quality of life.
List of New Cabinet Secretaries
In his new cabinet, President Ruto has a lot of old faces. Kithure Kindiki has been reinstated to the Interior Ministry, Aden Duale to Defense, Davis Chirchir for Transport, Soipan Tuiya to Forestry, and Alice Wahome to Land. Rebecca Miano has been nominated as the next Attorney General.
The nominee for health is Dr Debra Mlongo Barasa, Education nominee is Julius Ogamba. Interestingly, Ogamba was a running mate for ousted education CS Ezekiel Machogu. The pair unsuccessfully contested for Kisii county governorship. Eric Muga has been nominated for the land ministry while Andrew Muhia Karanja is livestock ministry nominee. Andrew Muhia was a personal assistant to the immediate former minister, Mithika Linturi.
More new cabinet nominees are expected to be named in due course.
