How Much Makau Mutua Earns to Advise Ruto

President William Ruto’s Senior Advisor on Constitutional and Human Rights, Makau Mutua, has disclosed that he receives almost a million shillings, equivalent to a Cabinet Secretary’s salary, for his position.
Mutua was responding to a question during an interview atCitizen TVon Wednesday, when he explained his perks as an advisor to the president.
Although he avoided mentioning the actual amount he earned monthly, he agreed with the interviewer’s assertion that the amount ranged between Ksh700,000 and Ksh800,000.
“I am paid the equivalent of a Cabinet Secretary,” Mutua stated, after initially refusing to answer the question, citing that it was not relevant.
For context, as of July 1, 2024, a Cabinet Secretary’s gross monthly salary is about Ksh990,000, which includes basic pay, a house allowance, and market adjustment. CEOs of top commercial parastatals, such as the Kenya Pipeline Company, which brought Ksh5 billion to the Treasury last year, earn around Ksh903,300 per month.
This revelation comes even as Kenyans continue to marvel at the sheer number of advisors the President has appointed since taking over the reins as the President three years ago. They are approximated at about 20.
Some of the most notable ones were appointed after signing the 10-point agenda Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Among them was Mutua, Odinga’s campaign spokesperson and a long-term critic of President William Ruto’s administration before his appointment in April.
Odinga’s nephew and Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga’s son, Jaoko Oburu Odinga, was also appointed as a special advisor onEconomic Empowerment and Sustainable Livelihoods months after the MoU was signed.
Notably, the number of Cabinet Secretaries almost coincides with the number of special advisors, all seemingly earning the same amount per month.
Until his resignation two months ago, former Trade CS Moses Kuria was President Ruto’s Senior Economic Advisor. He resigned following the Saba Saba protests, citing his decision would help himto reflect and maintain neutrality during what he described as “hazy times”.
As for Mutua, despite attracting criticism for his shift from opposition to advising the government and, most recently, his new position as the chair of the committee of protest victims’ compensation, he has maintained that a resignation would only come if he started disagreeing with the President’s ideologies.
He denied claims of whitewashing or covering for the government, emphasising, “If things happen that I am not happy with and my conscience cannot live with, I will move out because I will not be of any use to the government or the President.”