President Ruto defends re-appointment of cabinet secretaries

President William Ruto addresses Mombasa residents during a town hall meeting on Sunday, July 28. [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

President William Ruto has defended the re-appointment of some cabinet secretaries in his government, saying they have returned under new terms.

They are; Kipchumba Murkomen (Sports and Youth Affairs), Alfred Mutua (Labour), former AG Justin Mutin (Public Service), Aden Duale (Environment), Kithure Kindiki (Interior), Alice Wahome (Land), Soipan Tuya (Defense) and Davis Chirchir (Transport).

The president made the remarks on Sunday, July 28, during a town hall meeting in Mombasa.

"We may have been friends, we may have been acquaintances, but this is different. We are going to work on the timeliness the people of Kenya have given us," said Ruto.

Further, the president clarified that his administration had not formed a coalition with the Opposition, instead referring to it as a "broad-based government."

"There has been this feeling that the government is made up of William Ruto's friends. I also wanted other people to join the government, an administration that has the broader face of Kenya, and that is why different members of my cabinet are coming from different formations," he added.

Ruto noted that both Kenya Kwanza and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) had agreed to collaborate on areas of mutual agreement.

"There are things that are common between us (KK and ODM), and my question is, those things that we have no contest about, can we agree on them and move the country forward. That is how we agreed to work with ODM," he explained.

While unveiling his second batch of cabinet secretaries on Wednesday, president Ruto ceded four cabinet slots to the Opposition in an attempt to win their support and achieve national unity after weeks of anti-government protests.

ODM Deputy Party leaders Wycliffe Oparanya and Ali Hassan Joho were appointed as Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs Development and Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs respectively.

ODM Party Chairman John Mbadi was appointed the Treasury CS while the party's director of political affairs and National Assembly Minority Leader James Opiyo Wandayi, will take charge of the Energy Ministry.