Ruto Nominates Nakhumicha As Permanent Representative of Kenya to UN-Habitat

President William Ruto has nominated former Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Nairobi.

The appointment was part of a reorganization of Kenya’s foreign missions, announced Wednesday in a statement from State House.

President Ruto’s Chief of Staff and head of Public Service, Felix Koskei, are part of efforts to accelerate the administration’s development agenda.

Nakhumicha previously served as the Cabinet Secretary for Health, a position she held from October 2022 to July 2024.

During her tenure, she faced mounting challenges, including rampant strikes by healthcare workers and scrutiny over stalled reforms in Kenya’s public health sector.

Ruto named Nakhumicha alongside five other nominees including former Sports Principal Secretary Peter Tum whom he has nominated as Ambassador to Kinshasa.

The President also nominated Afred Ombudo and Geoffrey Kaituko and Deputy Heads of Mission to Brussels and Rome respectively.

He nominated EAC Principal Secretary Abdi Dubat Consul-General to Arusha and James Muhati in a similar capacity in Guazhou, China.

The new appointees will be vetted by the National Assembly before assuming their positions, as stipulated in the Constitution.

The diplomatic reassignments come amid as Ruto works to strengthen Kenya’s global engagement strategy months after the Cabinet endorsed a revised Foreign Policy.