President William Ruto has reshuffled Kello Harsama to the State Department for Petroleum in new changes within the Principal Secretaries ranks.

The changes, which were announced on Thursday, May 28, saw Harsama being moved from the State Department for the ASALs and Regional Development to the Petroleum docket, where he will now take up the role of Principal Secretary with immediate effect.

Effectively, Caroline W. Karugu has been designated as the Acting Principal Secretary for the State Department for ASALs and Regional Development, where she will continue serving in her substantive role as Principal Secretary for East African Community (EAC) Affairs.

“Caroline W. Karugu, who serves as Principal Secretary for East African Community (EAC) Affairs, had been designated as Acting Principal Secretary for the State Department for ASALs and Regional Development in addition to her current role,” a communique from Head of Public Service Felix Koskei said. 

“The changes are intended to fill the vacancy arising from the resignation of the immediate former Principal Secretary for the State Department for Petroleum,

The reassignments were made in line with Article 155(4) of the Constitution to fill the vacancy left after the resignation of a PS. 

The Petroleum PS position fell vacant after the resignation of Mohamed Liban, who tendered his resignation in April following investigations into an alleged fuel importation and supply chain scandal.

Liban was part of a trio implicated in a dubious fuel deal, including the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) Director General, Daniel Kiptoo, and Kenya Pipeline Company Managing Director (KPC) Joe Sang.