President Ruto Appoints Charles Owino as Government Spokesperson in Fresh Executive Reshuffle

President William Ruto has appointed former National Police Service spokesperson Charles Owino as the new Government Spokesperson, in a fresh round of appointments and redeployments within the Executive announced on Tuesday.

The changes were unveiled by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei through Notification of Presidential Action No. XI of 2026, which also carried a raft of nominations to constitutional commissions and other statutory bodies.

According to the notification, the Public Service Commission approved Owino’s redeployment from the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, where he had been serving as Acting Head of Government Communications. He now takes over as the chief communicator for the Executive Office of the President.

“The Public Service Commission has redeployed Charles Owino from the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, where he has been serving as Acting Head of Government Communications, and appointed him Government Spokesperson in the Executive Office of the President,” the notification stated.

Owino, who built his profile as a national security communications officer during his years at the police service, takes over from Isaac Mwaura, who has held the Government Spokesperson role since 2024. Mwaura has now been redesignated to head the newly established Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Disability Rights in the Executive Office of the President.

The reshuffle also touched several independent oversight bodies. President Ruto nominated Dr Duncan Ojwang Oburu as Chairperson of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), a position left vacant after Issack Hassan’s appointment as a Court of Appeal judge.

Former Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary-General Wilson Sossion and Antonina Lentoijoni were nominated as members of the Teachers Service Commission, while Flora Mutua was nominated to the Public Service Commission. All the nominations require parliamentary approval.

Seven other nominees were forwarded to the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee, among them Mary Nanjala Kilobi, wife of COTU Secretary-General Francis Atwoli, who will represent Nairobi County. The others are Wilson Kuria Thuita, Silvya Apaa, Ahmed Kanyara Bishar, Pascalyne Ntang’enoi Kimiriri, Ken Riaga and Evalyn Chepkirui Aruasa, pending ratification by the National and County Government Coordinating Summit.

Koskei said the changes reflect ongoing efforts to fill vacancies in constitutional and statutory bodies while streamlining senior leadership within the Executive.