In January 2022, Mohamed Hussein was appointed as the Head of Communications for Deputy President William Ruto’s presidential campaign. Prior to this, he had been a respected TV anchor for Citizen TV, but had left in October 2019 due to a fallout with some of his colleagues. He had maintained a low profile since leaving Citizen TV.
In 2018, Royal Media Services (RMS) had undergone a major restructuring, in which they hired several new employees, including Editorial Director Joe Ageyo, Strategy Director Linus Kaikai, Yvonne Okwara, and several other journalists, in an effort to create a “Dream Team”. The new employees were awarded hefty salaries, which almost doubled what the old team was earning, causing tension between the “old” and “new” teams of employees at RMS.
This tension ultimately led to the departure of several prominent journalists, including Mohamed, Dorcas Wangira, Saida Swaleh, Makori Ongechi, and Asha Mwilu. Joe Ageyo also left the media house in March 2022.
Ruto Appoints Hussein Mohamed State House Spokesperson
President William Ruto confirmed the appointment through Joseph Kinyua, outgoing Head of Public Service.
“It is notified that His Excellency William Ruto has on, October 14, made various appointments to the senior ranks of the Executive Office of the President,” Kinyua announced.
Hussein, who previously served as Ruto’s communications director, played a key role in Ruto’s presidential election win.
He took over from Kanze Dena, who served under former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
His appointment made him the second journalist who worked at Citizen TV to be appointed as State House Spokesperson after Kanze.
In the appointments, David Mugonyi, who previously served as Ruto’s communications director at the Office of the Deputy President, was promoted to Head of the Presidential Communication Service (PSC).
Ruto renamed PSC from the Presidential Strategic Communications Unit (PSCU) in an Executive Order issued on Thursday, October 13.
Hussein will now be charged with making statements on behalf of Ruto and issuing updates on various government projects as assigned by the head of state.
He will also be in charge of coordinating digital messaging, research, branding and press at the State House.
After accepting to work with Ruto in January 2022, Hussein argued that he resonated with the bottom-up economic model.
The journalist also clarified that Ruto’s idea of driving a paradigm shift attracted him to his camp.
“I share with the hustler story and so do the majority of Kenyans. Nothing gives me more pleasure than being part of this team that is driving a paradigm shift in our politics and ultimately, governance from top-down, to bottom-up,” Hussein stated.
