Nairobi – The Public Service Commission has appointed former Cabinet Secretary for Energy Davis Chirchir as Chief of Staff of the Office of the Vice President (ODP) to replace Ambassador Ken Osinde who died in December 2021.

Chirchir also served as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s chief agent in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections.

Vice President William Ruto’s office confirmed that he took over as chief of staff on March 1, 2022.

Chirchir was among President Kenyatta’s four cabinet secretaries relieved of their duties in 2015 in a bid to make a statement against corruption in government. The other licensees at the time were Felix Koskei (Agriculture), Michael Kamau (Transport) and Kazungu Kambi (Labour).

Prior to his Cabinet appointment in 2013, Chirchir served as the Director of Information Technology at the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), which was later replaced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Ruto’s former immediate chief of staff, Amb Osinde, had held the post longest after taking over from Maryanne Keitany, who stepped down in 2015 after ten months in office. She was the first holder of the post created under the Constitution promulgated in 2010.

Amb Osinde served as Kenya’s Ambassador to Romania as well as Bulgaria prior to his appointment.