By Nancy Oseur
Claim
A post published on X on 23 July 2026 claims that President William Ruto had made a new Cabinet reshuffle, with several Cabinet Secretaries allegedly being removed and replaced.
The graphic, branded “The Star Digital, lists the following purported changes:
Rebecca Miano — Tourism and Wildlife → Winnie Odinga
Alice Wahome— Lands, Housing and Urban Development → Junet Mohamed
Eric Muriithi Muuga— Water, Sanitation and Irrigation → Koki Muli
Mutahi Kagwe— Agriculture and Livestock Development → Cleophas Malala
William Kabogo — Information, Communications and Digital Economy → Agnes Zani
Lee Kinyanjui— Investments, Trade and Industry → Alice Wahome
The post accompanying the graphic further claims that “Ol Kalou sent a message” and that President Ruto had heard the message, suggesting that the alleged reshuffle was a political response to the outcome of the Ol Kalou by-election.
Background
The claim emerged shortly after the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election held on 16 July 2026, where Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru of the DCP defeated Samuel Muchina Nyagah of UDA. Sammy Douglas Waweru Kamau, won with 35,440 votes, representing about 85.8% of the valid vote, while UDA’s Samuel Muchina Nyagah received about 5,450 votes.
The margin of nearly 30,000 votes made the result particularly significant because UDA is President William Ruto’s governing party.
The election attracted considerable political attention, including allegations of voter bribery, intimidation and violence during the campaign and on polling day. This subsequently fuelled political speculation online, including claims that the result would trigger changes within President Ruto’s administration. It was also interpreted as a possible indicator of changing political sentiment in the Mt Kenya region ahead of the 2027 General Election.
This context is important when examining the names appearing in the viral Cabinet graphic.
Rebecca Miano’s alleged replacement with Winnie Odinga, for example, is politically striking because Winnie Odinga is associated with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and the wider Odinga political establishment. Her appearance in a purported Ruto Cabinet therefore creates the impression of a significant political accommodation between the Kenya Kwanza administration and the opposition.
Similarly, the graphic proposes Junet Mohamed, another prominent ODM figure, for a Cabinet position. Junet’s inclusion would therefore also carry a strong political message because of his longstanding association with ODM and the Odinga camp.
The proposed appointment of Cleophas Malala is equally politically loaded. Malala has been associated with the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), the party that had just delivered the overwhelming Ol Kalou victory. Putting a senior DCP figure into Cabinet immediately after the party’s victory could make the graphic appear to suggest that President Ruto was responding to the Ol Kalau message by bringing DCP figures closer to the government.
The other names also give the graphic a political dimension. Lee Kinyanjui, for instance, is a prominent political figure from the Mt Kenya region and his inclusion or removal from a Cabinet position could be interpreted through the lens of the region’s increasingly important political alignment ahead of 2027.
However, a Cabinet reshuffle is not triggered automatically by the result of a parliamentary by-election. Under Article 152 of the Constitution Cabinet Secretaries are appointed by the President, subject to approval by the National Assembly. Therefore, any genuine change would require an official presidential announcement followed by the relevant constitutional process.
The timing of the viral graphic is also significant since it appeared shortly after an overwhelming DCP victory in a constituency where UDA had expected to remain competitive. It consequently creates a narrative that the President had received a political warning from Ol Kalou and was responding through a Cabinet reshuffle.
It appeared amid heightened speculation about possible political realignments and Cabinet changes, making it easier for an apparently official-looking graphic to gain traction online.
Verification
Piga Firimbi investigated the claim and found several inconsistencies during the verification process.
- There was no presidential announcement of the alleged reshuffle.
A search of the official website of the President of Kenya does not show an announcement on 23 July 2026 appointing Winnie Odinga, Junet Mohamed, Koki Muli, Cleophas Malala or Agnes Zani to Cabinet. The official Cabinet listing continues to identify the serving Cabinet Secretaries, including Rebecca Miano, Alice Wahome, Eric Muriithi Muuga, Mutahi Kagwe, William Kabogo and Lee Kinyanjui.
This is significant because appointments to Cabinet are major constitutional government decisions and would ordinarily be communicated through official presidential channels.
In this case, there is no such official announcement supporting the changes shown in the graphic.
- Parliament has actually disowned a related Cabinet-nominee document.
On 23 July 2026, a separate document circulated online claiming that the National Assembly had asked the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to vet five alleged Cabinet nominees.
The document named Winnie Odinga, Junet Mohamed, Koki Muli, Cleophas Malala and Agnes Zani the same names appearing in the viral graphic.
However, Parliament officially disowned the document, saying it did not originate from the National Assembly. The EACC also confirmed that it had not received such a request from Parliament and marked the circulating document as FAKE.
- The alleged appointments do not appear in the official Cabinet record.
The official presidential Cabinet page continues to list, among others:
Rebecca Miano— Tourism and Wildlife
Alice Wahome— Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development
Eric Muriithi Muuga— Water, Sanitation and Irrigation
Mutahi Kagwe— Agriculture and Livestock Development
William Kabogo Gitau — Information, Communications and the Digital Economy
Lee Kinyanjui— Investments, Trade and Industry.
Therefore, the graphic’s claim that these Cabinet Secretaries had been removed and replaced is not supported by the official government record.
- The graphic falsely uses the appearance of a media publication to create credibility
The viral image carries “The Star Digital” branding, giving the impression that it is an authentic graphic published by The Star. However, the presence of a media logo alone does not establish that the publication created or endorsed the content.
A review of The Star’s official publications found no report announcing the alleged Cabinet reshuffle shown in the viral graphic. Instead, coverage by the publication provides a different picture of the political situation following the Ol Kalou by-election.
Among the relevant reports was “No Panic Reshuffle,” in which Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi said the Ol Kalou defeat had opened the ruling party’s eyes but maintained that there would be no Cabinet reshuffle triggered by a single by-election result. He further noted that Cabinet appointments remain the President’s prerogative.
The Star also reported on the continuation of government projects in Ol Kalou. Former Public Service CS and presidential adviser Moses Kuria assured residents that infrastructure, health and other development projects initiated in the constituency during the campaign period would continue despite the UDA defeat.
These reports contradict the narrative created by the viral graphic, which suggests that the Ol Kalou outcome immediately triggered a Cabinet shake-up.
Most importantly, The Star has not published the alleged Cabinet reshuffle as presented in the circulating image. The graphic appears to have borrowed the publication’s branding to give an otherwise unsupported claim an appearance of legitimacy.
Verdict
The claim that President William Ruto announced the Cabinet changes shown in the graphic is FALSE.
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