Litmus test for Ruto as he appoints second half of Cabinet

In the wake of dissent emanating from President William Ruto’s choice of his first batch of Cabinet nominees, the Head of State yet again faces a litmus test in the composition of his second set of Cabinet secretaries.

On Friday, Ruto named half of his cabinet, comprising former cabinet secretaries, politicians and a 32-year-old civil engineer.

He reinstated four of the axed CSs to serve in their former positions, reshuffled two and named five new ones to help him steer the reins of government.

Former CSs Kithure Kindiki (Interior) Alice Wahome (Lands) Soipan Tuya (Environment and Climate Change) and Aden Duale (Defense) were nominated to their previous dockets while Rebecca Miano (formerly Trade) and Davis Chirchir (formerly Energy) were nominated to serve in Attorney General’s office and Road and Transport Ministries respectively.

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Other new-face nominees include Julius Migos Ogamba (Education), Margaret Nyambura (ICT), Debra Mlongo Barasa (Health), Andrew Mwihia (Agriculture) and Eric Murithi Mugaa (Water and Sanitation).

But in doing so, Ruto seemingly stocked the embers of a political uprising that threatens his tenure in office, with the youth-led protests now set to make a comeback next week Tuesday.

The youth, feeling ignored and reading spite in the actions of the president to recycle nearly 40 percent of his banished Cabinet, have vowed not to ease off on the protests’ gas pedal until all their demands to the Head of State are actioned.

Gen Zs and millennials have in the recent past made demands on what the next Cabinet should look like, following a month of sustained pressure on the President to not only address their plight but also vacate office. They’ve insisted on a leaner government, one whose integrity is not checkered and laid an emphasis the non-recycling of his previous Cabinet.

But by his pronouncement at State House on Friday, Ruto backtracked on these demands, setting the stage for a protracted clash with the youth- the fact that six out of the 11 nominees hail from the Mt Kenya region doesn’t augur well for him either.

The backlash from his pronouncement has now snowballed into calls for a fresh round of protests countrywide.

So, will the revolt jolt Ruto into a Damascus moment where he appoints new and credible CSs or is he likely to hammer the last nail in his political coffin by appointing cronies and political allies to the remaining 11 slots of his Cabinet?

Governance Expert Tom Mboya believes that President William Ruto has already shown his hand and is intent on doing things his way.

“Due to recent events, Ruto was handed the rare opportunity to hit the reset button, and appoint a Cabinet that is fit for purpose. He has now played his hand and demonstrated that he is going to do things his way, regardless of what the consequences might be. A review of his first cabinet and the initial appointees to his second (many recycled) shows his level of comfort with those he has chosen to entrust with the great responsibility of helping him steer the governance of the nation. While many may be of a contrary view, clearly that does not concern him much,” says Mboya.

Lawyer and political commentator Danstan Omari faults the president’s actions, noting that before announcing his second set of CSs, Ruto should recall the first.

“Out of the 11 nominees announced on Friday, six of them come from the Mt Kenya region. This in itself is already a fail according to the constitution. This also shows that Ruto is still held captive by his Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and they have now both demonstrated that this is a government based on shareholding,” states the Lawyer.

He further claims there’s a deliberate ploy by President Ruto to keep a section of the fired CSs in power by appointment of their proxies.

“Kenyans have not seen a break from the Cabinet that was fired, the new faces are a reward to the old CSs that were sacked; you have Andrew Mwihia who is a Cabinet nominee in the Agriculture docket yet he was a former personal assistant to the immediate former  Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi , there is also Julius Migos Ogamba as the Cabinet nominee in the Education docket yet he was the former Education CS Ezekiel Machogu’s running mate for the Kisii gubernatorial seat in the 2022 elections on a UDA ticket. It’s very telling,” adds Omari.

Talk has also been rife that in keeping with his “broad-based government” approach to reconstituting his Cabinet, the President seeks to relinquish the other half of appointments to the opposition coalition and other stakeholders.

The Sunday Standard has reliably established that despite the escalated infighting between member parties within the Azimio coalition- on whether to partner with the Kenya Kwanza government- figures from the opposition are expected to feature promininenly on Ruto’s next list of nominees.

ODM party is reportedly leading the pack and is expected to land 7 out of the eleven available slots.

This, Mboya says, may work for or against the President in the court of public opinion.

“In the court of public opinion, opposition figures featuring in the next list may only help Ruto in his attempt to demonstrate he is now consulting more widely. It may provide impetus for the “dialogue” that failed to take off, which in any event would only be a dialogue between political elites as opposed to a genuinely broad based consultation aimed at resolving the numerous poignant issues Gen Z and protestors have raised,” he observes.

Lawyer Omari holds that Ruto will go out on a limb to implement his “tokenism” brand of politics.

“It’s like the President and his people have failed to understand why there is unrest in the country. Gen Zs do not want to see old politicians being brought back. They want to see technocrats who can steer the country in the right direction sitting in the Cabinet,” he asserts.

Adding, “Kenyans do not want to see politics running government. The reason why Ruto’s government failed was because he appointed political rejects and if he continues with such appointments, this one, too, will fail.”

Omari further criticises Ruto for his firing of the immediate former Attorney General Justin Muturi terming it “unprocedural.”

“All these issues will make it rough for Ruto to have a successful government. By his appointments, it is now confirmation that the President does not listen or does not understand what is being said by Kenyans. It is also confirmation that he cannot be trusted,” he remarked.

All eyes are now on the August House as it resumes from recess next week to see whether it will approve first set of CS nominees and on Ruto to see how he navigates the intricacies of constituting his second half of Cabinet.