The former Cabinet Secretary for Sports (CS), Rashid Echesa, has been appointed as the new chairperson of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.
The appointment was announced by CS for Labour and Social Protection, Alfred Mutua, in a Gazette notice dated November 29.
Echesa will hold the position until May 18, 2026.
He replaces the former Bura MP Ali Wario, who was scheduled to serve a three-year term starting March 2024, under the tenure of the previous Labour CS, Florence Bore.
In March 2023, President William Ruto appointed Echesa as chairperson of the Kenya Water Towers Agency Board, with a three-year term beginning May 19, 2023.
He succeeded L. Arch. Robert M. Kariuki in the role.
Echesa, who was dismissed from President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Cabinet after being implicated in a Sh39 billion arms scandal, has had a remarkable rise from a primary school dropout to a prominent national figure.
His early involvement with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) helped solidify his position as a key political figure in the Western region.
Former Bura MP Ali Wario.
In 2017, Echesa aligned himself with President Kenyatta and Deputy President Ruto, ultimately joining Ruto’s faction of the ruling coalition.
His loyalty was rewarded when Kenyatta appointed him as the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture, and Heritage.
