President William Ruto’s nominee for Principal Secretary in the state department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy, Fikirini Jacobs, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, met with ODM Party leader Raila Odinga in Nairobi.
Fikirini, who was in the company of other leaders, including Fred Gumo and Reuben Ndolo, met Odinga after his nomination to become the PS for Youth Affairs was approved by the National Assembly during its sitting on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
“Comrade and incoming Permanent Secretary, Fikirini Jacobs, accompanied by a team of young leaders, visited me today. I wished him all the best as he assumes his new role as PS tomorrow,” Raila said.
Youngest PS
While his name has been forwarded to the president for appointment, Fikirini is on the path to becoming the youngest principal secretary in the Ruto administration at only 29 years of age.
The charismatic politician was born and raised in Bamba before he set his sights on campus leadership after joining Maasai Mara University in 2015 to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Education.
However, he was expelled from the university in 2017 after the school found him guilty of organising a student protest against the wishes of the administration.
The firebrand student leader quickly enrolled at Pwani University to pursue a different degree, where he would rise to become the president of the Pwani University Students Association (PUSA).
Kilifi County stint
Before his nomination to serve as the principal secretary for Youth Affairs, Fikirini was the Kilifi County director of the Governor’s delivery unit.
It was while serving under Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro that the youthful Fikirini was nominated by Ruto to serve in a national role.
Fikirini is an ardent supporter of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, whom he says is his political father and a major source of inspiration to his leadership.
During the 2022 campaigns, Fikirini was among the youth who addressed the public in Kilifi and Nairobi rallies.
His nomination was approved by the National Assembly alongside those of Carren Ageng’o, who was nominated for the position of PS Children Welfare Services, Carolyne Karugu, who was approved to be PS East African Community and Michael Lenasalon, who was approved to become PS for Devolution.
14 nominees for the Principal Secretary position were named in a gazette notice by Ruto on March 20, 2025, when the head of state indicated that their appointments would serve to harness the opportunities within emerging sectors of the economy, as well as to address challenges affecting Kenya’s social fabric.