NAIROBI, Kenya – After dismissing almost his entire Cabinet last week due to pressure from widespread Gen Z led-protests, President William Ruto named his first group of new ministers on Friday, July 19.
Of the 11 individuals named by President Ruto, six were among those he dismissed, including Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.
While former Energy CS Davis Chirchir has been nominated to take over the Roads and Transport docket, Rebecca Miano, the former Trade Cabinet Secretary, was nominated Attorney General.
The other members of the new Cabinet are a mixture of experts from different industries and considerably more subdued political backgrounds. Parliament still has to approve Ruto’s selections.
President Ruto stated that putting the nation back on course would be the responsibility of the reorganised government.
He said the Cabinet will receive a new roadmap the next week covering accountability, public debt management, and job creation. The blueprint would also include timetables and goals.
Why Kithure Kindiki’s return to Cabinet is likely to ruffle feathers
However, Kindiki’s nomination back to the Cabinet, a week after former Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome’s resignation, is likely to spark debate in the coming days.
Before President Ruto dismissed his Cabinet last week, only retaining his deputy Rigathi Gachagua and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, the Foreign & Diaspora Affairs Minister, there was growing public outcry over the government’s failure to explain the increasing number of abductions and killings across the country.
Migori Senator Eddy Oketch, for example, was one of the prominent political figures who demanded that Kindiki and Koome step down.
Speaking at a panel discussion on Citizen TV, Oketch said the government cannot minimise arbitrary detentions and the unexplained disappearance of Kenyans that are thought to be police-related.
“The government cannot wishfully ignore the murders and kidnappings of Kenyans. “Leave office if President Ruto, CS Kindiki, and IG Koome cannot answer for the killings and kidnappings of Kenyans,” Oketch declared.
How the nationwide Gen Z-led protests started in Kenya
The Finance Bill 2024 sparked widespread anger among Kenyans, leading to protests by the country’s younger population, Gen Z.
As this happened, Faith Odhiambo, the president of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), became known as a leading voice for the oppressed. She promptly assumed the role of defending Kenyans unlawfully detained by the police, winning the admiration of many protests who later dubbed her “The People’s Chief Justice.”
She then asked her coworkers for help ensuring police behaviour during the demonstrations was observed. They aimed to guarantee that individuals could picket peacefully without fear of intimidation, detention, or false accusations.
The LSK boss would go on to lodge a formal report to the Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI), requesting an investigation into the alleged series of abductions.
In the wake of the recent nationwide protests, the National Integrity Alliance (NIA) said it stands in solidarity with the families of those who lost their lives during the demonstrations, those injured, unlawfully arrested and abducted.
“The dismissal of Cabinet and the resignation of Koome must be accompanied by concrete measures and immediate actions to restore public confidence, guarantee justice, accountability, and integrity, to address the underlying issues of corruption, impunity, and systemic failures,” the group said.
How Kithure Kindiki absolved himself from blame after Gen Z demos
According to the group, while President Ruto cited Article 152(5)(b), which mandates him with the power to dismiss Cabinet Secretaries, this provision does not provide grounds for the president’s decision.
“Since Ruto did not cite grounds for dismissing his Cabinet Secretaries, we fear that the President might apply the same provision of law under Article 152(5) (a) to re-assign his Cabinet Secretaries to different Ministerial portfolios,” the alliance further said.
The body of Denzel Omondi, a student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), and among 50 Kenyans killed at the height of anti-government protests, was discovered on July 6 buried in a quarry in Mashimoni, Juja, in Kiambu County.
Before being listed as missing, Omondi was one of the demonstrators who marched to Parliament during the anti-Finance Bill 2024 demonstrations.
A human rights organisation called Amnesty International Kenya disclosed that Omondi drowned to death, according to the postmortem results.
Amnesty was declared. “Juja Postmortem reveals Denzel Omondi died by drowning; bruises need further investigation,”
Kindiki, however, denied that there were kidnappings in the nation that were thought to be carried out by the police, claiming that the officers were only carrying out their duties before his removal from the Cabinet.
