Exam failures, election losers; Criteria for Ruto's Cabinet nominees
Peter Kimani
By
Peter Kimani
| Aug 02, 2024
Finally freed from his self-imposed exile in the so-called House on the Hill, Prezzo Bill Ruto hit the ground running, touring coastal counties with the specific task of assuring sacked politician Aisha Jumwa that she'd be absorbed in his government, one way or the other.
He was also touring the region to explain why he had picked Ali Hassan Joho as his Cabinet Secretary nominee for Mining, despite his dismal academic performance. I recall Joho gloating that he scored an aggregate of D- in his Form Four exams, but that didn't stop him from becoming the first Mombasa Governor. Joho has emerged as one of the powerful symbols of resilience.
By adding Joho to what Prezzo Ruto is calling "government of national unity," even though there is no formal agreement between his party and the opposition, Prezzo hopes to heal the rifts between and among citizens of different political persuasions. It was a particularly poignant gesture as Joho had publicly called out Prezzo Ruto using choice epithets to explain why he couldn't work for him.
Joho isn't the only beneficiary of Prezzo's magnanimity; his "broad-based consultations" were manifested in his pick of Education Cabinet Secretary nominee, one Julis Migos Ogamba, to succeed Ezekiel Machogu, who was sacked from the docket.
The two ran on UDA ticket for Kisii governorship in the last election and this affirms Prezzo's foundational values of equity.
If Machogu had a chance to join the Cabinet, even after failing at the polls, it's only fair that his running mate also gets a stab in government, in a similar capacity.
No one should grumble and question what's special about those two men, in a country of 54 million Kenyans. If Prezzo has pronounced himself on the matter, then that's the end of it because he has said so.
And if Prezzo Ruto defines broad-based consultations as comprising not more than a handful individuals, or even shuffling his nominees from one docket to another, that could also pass for extensive consultations.
What stands out for me is his generous assessment that equity must include those who fail in exams and elections, for one episode of failure cannot stand as the singular definition of one's capabilities for the rest of their life.