Kenya’s President William Ruto, desperate to restore public confidence in his government, has dismissed the entire cabinet, including the attorney general, the chief state legal adviser. The sacking is historic in nature, indeed surprising, as many Kenyans expected just a handful Cabinet Secretaries to be sent home, if at all.
“Upon reflection, listening keenly to what the people of Kenya have said and after a holistic appraisal of the performance of my Cabinet and its achievements and challenges,” said Dr Ruto, who is in his second year of ruling Kenya, “I have, in line with the powers given to me by Article 152(1) and 152(5)(b) of the Constitution and Section 12 of the Office of the Attorney-General Act, decided to dismiss with immediate effect all the Cabinet Secretaries and the Attorney-General from the Cabinet of the Republic of Kenya except the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs.”
The holder of the Prime Cabinet portfolio, Mr Musalia Mudavadi, has been spared mostly for political reasons, being a key member of the coalition that helped Ruto ascend to power in the August 2022 general elections.
His move is expectedly causing ripples in Kenya. While it may appease young Kenyans who who have been protesting against bad governance and rising cost of living, it is likely to shake Ruto’s political base that hinges on ethnic alliances – and increase the appetite of protesters for more demands.
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It won’t be surprising to see some of the Cabinet Secretaries back in government in same or different capacities after the reconstitution of the cabinet. The hardest part, of course, will be constituting a new government that espouses merit and at the same time strike a political balance that will keep his party alliance intact.
Speaking at State House Nairobi, Mr Ruto said he would immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government that “will assist me in accelerating” reforms needed to juice up the economy and win public trust again.
The government needs radical programmes to deal with the burden of debt, raising domestic resources, expanding job opportunities, eliminating wastage and unnecessary duplication of a multiplicity of government agencies and slay the dragon of corruption and hopefully make the government lean, inexpensive, effective and efficient.
“During this process, the operations of government will continue uninterrupted under the guidance of Principal Secretaries and other relevant officials,” he said.
This marks the beginning of a painful renewal of President Ruto’s administration barely two years into leadership. It is a necessary evolution given the events – led by young Kenyans under the Gen Z banner – that forced the withdrawal of the Finance Bill. Getting out of this hole and having the government stabilize requires a review and reorganisation of the budget and fiscal management.
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