Isaac Mwaura is the new government spokesperson, a position he was appointed to by President Ruto.
He took over the position from Colonel Cyrus Oguna, who had taken over from Eric Kiraithe. Both men served under the Jubilee regime.
The position had been left vacant after Oguna resigned 7 months ago to work with Siaya governor James Orengo as his chief of staff.
Following Oguna’s resignation, the position of government spokesperson was announced vacant by the Public Service Commission.
Mwaura, who holds a bachelor’s degree in special education, a master’s degree in development studies and another in government policy, was recently appointed to the role.
In this article, WoK takes a look at his new salary and responsibilities:
Salary
The job of government spokesperson is classified under job group U. Under that job group, Mwaura will be earning a basic salary of between sh 292, 765 and 576, 120.
He will also be entitled to other allowances, including a monthly house allowance of sh 100 000, entertainment allowance of sh 100 000, extraneous allowance of sh 100 000, and domestic workers allowance of sh 100 000.
In total, he will earn a monthly basic salary of between sh 692, 765 and sh 976, 120.
He will also be entitled to a leave of 30 days and free medical cover.
Qualifications
To be a government spokesperson, one must be a citizen of Kenya. Additionally, one must have at least 15 years of experience as a media/communication practitioner.
One must also have a bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, and journalism.
Finally, one must be a member of a professional body related to the above fields, such as the Media Council of Kenya.
Responsibilities
As the government spokesperson, Mwaura will be responsible for propagating government initiatives and policies.
He will also be required to respond to journalists’ questions concerning government actions, publicizing government programs, and communicating official government statements.
Decorated career
Recently, Mwaura was described by the Daily Nation as Kenya’s luckiest politician of the last decade.
He has been on the government payroll since 2010, when he was appointed as advisor to then Prime Minister Raila Odinga. At the time, he was a staunch ODM die-hard.
In 2013, ODM nominated him as a member of parliament representing special interest groups.
As Mp, Mwaura was earning a monthly salary of around sh 621, 250. He was also entitled to sh 5 000 for every committee sitting he participated in, a car grant of sh 5 million, among other perks.
During the 2017 elections, Mwaura ditched ODM and joined Uhuru Kenyata’s Jubilee party.
For his loyalty, he was nominated as a senator between 2017 to 2021, when he was ditched by Jubilee due to his close allegiance to then-deputy president William Ruto, who did not see eye-to-eye with the president.
For the five years he served as a nominated senator, he earned a monthly salary of over 600 000, was entitled to a government car of 3000 cc, medical cover of over 10 million, insurance, an allowance of 7 500 for every committee sitting he participated in, monthly airtime worth sh 15 000, among other perks.
In 2022, Mwaura joined the UDA party and tried to vie for the Ruiru MP seat but did not proceed past the UDA party nominations.
He then tried to apply for other government jobs, including a job in the Commission on Revenue Allocation but was unsuccessful.
When all seemed lost, he was appointed by Ruto as CAS in the office of Musalia Mudavadi, the Prime Cabinet Secretary.
Until his appointment as the government spokesperson, Mwaura’s appointment to the role of CAS was pending following a court ruling that suspended CAS nominations.
