The President of Kenya William Ruto Samoei, recently unleashed his list of Cabinet Secretaries including nominees from the opposition. This follows the dissolving of cabinet, weeks after anti-government protests.
President Ruto while giving his address at the statehouse says the inclusion of leaders from the opposition aims to foster inclusivity in the government as well as representation of Kenyans from all parts of the country. Creating mixed signals among Kenyans, there was a notable absence – the left-out of key Cabinet Secretaries.
Missing names
Key politicians left out were Moses Kuria who served as CS for Public Service, Peninah Malonza who was in charge of the East African Community docket, Aisha Jumwa who was in charge of the Gender and Culture docket, Njuguna Ndung’u.Zacharia Njeru who served as Water and Irrigation CS, Mithika Linturi CS for Agriculture and Livestock, Ezekiel Machogu CS for Education, Ababu Namwamba CS for Sports, Simon Chelugui who was in charge of Micro and Small Enterprises, Florance Bore who was until her dismissal the CS for Labour and Social Protection was left out as well as Eliud Owalo(ICT) and Susan Nakhumicha(Health).
The decision to dissolve entire Cabinet takes Kenyans back to 19 years ago when the third President, Mwai Kibaki dissolved his cabinet in 2005 after Kenyans rejected the proposed draft constitution, an almost similar situation witnessed in the rejection of 2024 finance bill leading to demonstrations across Kenya. Demonstrators have been calling for a fresh start accusing the former ministers of incompetence, corruption and displays of opulence amid the high cost of living.
The old Cabinet was faced with significant challenges, including corruption, unemployment, and Ruto’s administration had also been seen by the Gen Z as of bad governance and alleged of corruption. Could the left out former cabinet secretaries be the dubbed incompetent and corrupt ministers and is the new cabinet set to take Kenya to a different shape?