Seth Panyako Removed from Provident Fund Board

Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning, John Mbadi Ng’ongo, has revoked the appointment of Seth Sindani Panyako as a member of the Local Authorities Provident Fund Board.

The decision was announced in a Kenya Gazette notice dated January 23, 2026.

Panyako had been appointed to the board in March 2023.

A nurse by profession and a seasoned trade unionist, Panyako is a prominent voice in Kenya’s labor movement. Since 2013, he served as Secretary-General of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), championing the rights of nurses and frequently clashing with the government over pay, working conditions, and healthcare reforms.

In 2020, Panyako led a nationwide call for nurses to down their tools after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission said the government could not meet their demands.

Beyond his union work, Panyako has also pursued a political career. He ran as the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate for the Malava parliamentary seat in 2022, but lost to ANC’s Malulu Injendi. He later challenged the result in court.

Panyako has publicly criticized his own party, accusing it of sidelining him despite his campaign efforts for President William Ruto in Western Kenya. At one point, he said he had been offered a Cabinet Secretary position but declined, stating that his role as KNUN Secretary-General “is bigger than that of a CS.”

Following the death of Malulu Injendi, Panyako contested the Malava seat again in a by-election but was defeated.