Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa has been appointed as the chairperson of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.
His appointment, announced through a gazette notice by Labour and Social Protection CS Alfred Mutua, takes effect on November 29, 2024, and runs until May 18, 2026.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 28 (1) and (2) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2007, as read together with section 51 (1) of the Interpretation and General Provisions Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection appoints Rashid Echesa to be the chairperson of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health,” the notice stated.
Echesa’s appointment follows the revocation of Ali Wario’s tenure as chair.
Echesa’s career has been shadowed by a high-profile legal battle over the Sh39 billion fake arms deal scandal.
In December 2021, he was acquitted by Senior Principal Magistrate Kenneth Cheruiyot, who ruled that the prosecution failed to present key witnesses to substantiate its case. However, the prosecution later appealed the ruling.
In July 2023, High Court Judge Kanyi Kimondo overturned the acquittal, finding that the trial court had erred. The judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence to warrant a defence hearing for Echesa, who is now required to appear before the Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court on March 4, 2025, for further proceedings.
Echesa, alongside four co-accused individuals, faced 12 charges, including conspiracy to commit a felony, forgery, and obtaining money by false pretence. He was accused of defrauding Eco Advanced Technologies of Sh11.5 million, claiming he could secure a lucrative Ministry of Defence tender for military equipment.
The prosecution alleged that Echesa promised the foreign investors from the US and Poland his political influence to help them secure the tender. While Echesa denies all charges, one of his co-accused was found with a case to answer on charges of possessing forged documents.
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