President Ruto to appoint Humphrey Wattanga as High Commissioner to South Africa

President William Ruto has nominated former Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga as the country's High Commissioner to South Africa. The announcement, released by the Executive Office of the President on Wednesday evening, comes after a day of rapid leadership changes at the national tax agency.

The diplomatic posting was confirmed in a statement signed by Felix Koskei, the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service. The nomination follows a decision by the KRA board earlier that day not to renew the contract of Mr. Wattanga. According to the board, he was placed on terminal leave with immediate effect, despite his tenure at the authority being closely tied to the administration's fiscal reforms.

Mr. Wattanga, a Harvard-trained expert with extensive experience in corporate finance, will now head one of Kenya's most critical diplomatic missions on the continent if approved by Parliament. The government stated that these changes are part of a regular cycle of succession aimed at expanding the diplomatic footprint of the nation.

Before his brief stint at the tax authority, Mr. Wattanga served as the Vice Chair of the Commission on Revenue Allocation. His transition to the Foreign Service marks a pivot from domestic resource mobilization to international relations. The Pretoria mission is regarded as a strategic hub for trade and regional cooperation between two of the largest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The KRA board, led by Chairman Ndiritu Muriithi, has appointed Lilian Nyawanda as the acting Commissioner General in the interim. Ms. Nyawanda, who previously served as the Commissioner for Customs and Border Control, takes over as the authority seeks a permanent replacement to oversee revenue collection targets for the remainder of the financial year.

Other nominations included in the presidential action were Dr. Julius Murori Mbijiwe as the Ambassador to the Holy See. Additionally, Ambassador Irene Maswan and Ambassador Judy Muthoni Njau were nominated as deputy envoys to the United Kingdom and Belgium, respectively.

The nominations have been forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration. Legislators will vet the nominees before they are formally appointed to their new roles in the foreign service.