Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukuru Yatani has decided to forego his bid to reclaim the Marsabit Governor seat he lost in the 2017 General Election to remain in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s cabinet.
“I have carefully weighed the dictate of my current national duty, respect for my president and reached the decision not to run in the forthcoming August General Election,” he said yesterday when the deadline for public servants eying political seats to resign lapsed.
Yattani lost the seat to Governor Mohamud Ali after serving for a single term from 2013.
In recent days, the UPYA Party Leader has been pivotal in spearheading grass-roots campaigns for Raila Odinga’s Azimio La Umoja Movement, urging residents in the northern region to support the former premier’s candidacy in the August polls.
Other President’s trusted allies said to have shelved their political ambitions to push the agenda of their boss include Mutahi Kagwe (Health), Fred Matiang’i (Interior), Eugene Wamalwa (Defence), James Macharia (Transport), Keriako Tobiko (Environment) and Joe Mucheru (ICT) and Peter Munya (Agriculture).
Those who resigned are: Cabinet Secretaries Charles Keter (Devolution) to contest the Kericho governorship joined the United Democratic Alliance, Sicily Kariuki (Water), John Munyes (Petroleum) and Adan Mohammed (East African Community).