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Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum
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James Opiyo Wandayi, EGH, MGH, CBS (born 22 June 1972) is a Kenyan politician, lawyer-in-training and agricultural/development economist who currently serves as Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, a role he assumed after being sworn in on 8 August 2024. Previously, he was a three-term Member of Parliament for Ugunja Constituency in Siaya County (elected in 2013, 2017 and 2022 on an ODM ticket) and rose to become Leader of the Minority Party in the 13th Parliament, positioning him as one of the most prominent opposition voices in the National Assembly before his move into the executive. He has also held senior party roles as ODM Secretary for Political Affairs and Second Deputy Secretary-General of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party, and has been decorated with high state honours, including Moran and Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear and Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart. Born in Muhola, Sidindi Ward, Wandayi attended Sikalame Primary School and Sawagongo High School before joining the University of Nairobi, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, specialising in Agricultural Economics, in 1996. He later added a Diploma in Business Management from the Kenya Institute of Management and an Executive MBA from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, and is currently pursuing an LLB at Daystar University—an academic journey that underpins his self-presentation as both technocrat and political organiser. During his 2024 vetting for the Energy and Petroleum docket, he declared a net worth of approximately KSh 530 million, while defending his record as Minority Leader and arguing that his education and parliamentary experience equipped him to steer a complex, capital-intensive sector.
Parliamentary oversight and public finance accountability As Chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the 12th Parliament (2017–2022), Wandayi led the National Assembly’s premier watchdog committee, overseeing audits of national government, the Judiciary, constitutional commissions and independent offices. Under his chairmanship, PAC is credited with clearing a multi-year backlog of Auditor-General reports and bringing national audit scrutiny close to current, a record publicly acknowledged by the Speaker. He simultaneously served as Secretary-General of the African Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (AFROPAC), extending his accountability work to a continental platform.
Driving electoral and governance reform debates Wandayi authored a major PAC report following a 2019 parliamentary probe into the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which called for far-reaching institutional reforms, and has repeatedly used his leadership roles to push for stronger oversight of election management and public spending. In the 13th Parliament he advanced an eight-point economic and governance agenda for the opposition—covering food security, education costs, workers’ welfare, social protection, farmer support and electoral reform—while sponsoring amendments to the Leadership and Integrity Act aimed at tightening anti-corruption standards for public officials.
Whistle protest and suspension from Parliament (2016) In March 2016, Wandayi was ejected from the National Assembly after he joined other opposition MPs in blowing whistles to disrupt President Uhuru Kenyatta’s State of the Nation address. The Speaker suspended him for the remainder of the session, effectively locking Ugunja Constituency out of parliamentary representation for months. Wandayi challenged the suspension in court, arguing it violated his constituents’ rights; the High Court later issued orders that allowed him back, and the episode became a touchstone in debates over parliamentary discipline versus political protest.
Arrest over Azimio protests and property damage charges (2023) On 20 March 2023, during anti-government demonstrations organised by the Azimio coalition, Wandayi and several other MPs were arrested and later charged with unlawful assembly and malicious damage to property, including allegations of damaging a private vehicle along City Hall Way in Nairobi. Supporters framed the protests as a legitimate challenge to the 2022 election outcome and rising living costs, while critics cited the case as evidence of lawlessness by opposition leaders. In April 2023, the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charges to facilitate an out-of-court settlement between the parties involved.
News articles featuring James Opiyo Wandayi
Expanding access to electricity and modern energy Since taking office as Energy and Petroleum CS, Wandayi has presided over a series of last-mile electrification and grid-strengthening projects, commissioning new village and rural electrification schemes in counties such as Machakos, Kisii, Siaya and Vihiga, and flagging off transformers and distribution upgrades in fast-growing peri-urban areas like Mavoko and Lukenya. These projects have connected hundreds of households, supported small enterprises and improved security, while aligning with national targets on universal access and economic inclusion. He has also championed the revival of the Muhoroni gas-turbine power plant to inject 60 MW back into the grid and has fronted new LPG storage and loading facilities at the former Changamwe refinery site in Mombasa.
Strategic sector initiatives and “first oil” agenda Beyond immediate electrification gains, Wandayi has positioned himself around structural reforms and investment attraction in the energy sector. In 2025 he appointed the “First Oil Technical, Commercial and Legal Working Committee” to fast-track commercialisation of Kenya’s oil discoveries, tasked with aligning technical, legal and commercial workstreams for a credible roadmap to first oil. He has also defended the use of public-private partnerships in transmission—most prominently a $736 million deal with Adani Energy Solutions for power lines—arguing before Parliament and the Senate that PPP rules and due diligence processes were followed to support Kenya’s green-transition and transmission-expansion ambitions.
Scrutiny over Adani power-lines PPP (2024) As Energy CS, Wandayi has faced intense scrutiny over a 30-year, $736 million public-private partnership with Adani Energy Solutions to build power transmission lines in Kenya. The deal, signed in October 2024 and later suspended by a Kenyan court, drew criticism partly because of separate corruption allegations facing the Adani Group in India. Appearing before a Senate committee, Wandayi insisted that the contract was above board, stressing that Kenya’s PPP Act requires rigorous due diligence on the private partner’s legal and tax compliance and denying any bribery or corruption in the award.
Political backlash over ideological shift and cabinet appointment (2024) During his August 2024 vetting, MPs pressed Wandayi on how he would credibly implement President Ruto’s policies after years of vocally opposing them as Minority Leader, including on taxation and cost-of-living issues. He defended himself by arguing that his earlier stance reflected his constitutional role as opposition leader rather than personal hostility to policy, but the exchange highlighted wider public unease about opposition figures transitioning into the executive and raised questions about consistency, loyalty and the boundaries between oversight and co-optation.
