By Our Reporter
WORLD
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Wanjiru Gikonyo, an activist have filed a petition at the High Court seeking to revoke the appointments of the new cabinet secretaries who took oath of office on Thursday.
In their petition, the two parties list several grounds for filing the petition including arguing that the vetting process that approved the CSs nomination lacked adequate public participation.
The two parties also cite integrity concerns as another ground for filing the case. For instance they point out Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya’s existing case with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) as a a case in point.
“Through a letter dated 31st July 2024 to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the EACC Chief Executive Officer raised integrity concerns about the 20th Interested Party (Oparanya),” the petition reads in part.
The new petition is likely to throw the spanner in the works in President William Ruto’s plan to hit the ground running following a wave of disruption caused by the recent anti-government protests.
President Ruto has in the recent past asked Kenyans to rally behind his government citing the formation of the broad based government as a good reason why Kenyans should get behind him.
I ask citizens of our great nation to give a chance to these great men and women in this new cabinet and to support them to deliver the mandate that has been given to them constitutionally and as they perform their duties to the best interest of our country,” Ruto stated after presiding over the swearing in of Cabinet Secretaries at State House, Nairobi on Thursday.
While the Head of State has unequivocally thrown his weight behind the new appointees, demonstrating their belief in them, Kenyans don’t share the same enthusiasm.
When President Ruto dissolved the cabinet after the anti-finance bill protests, many Kenyans welcomed the move as a step in the right direction and a new dawn in Kenya’s political landscape that would set the stage for cleaning the rot in the government.
However, a few weeks later, President Ruto would move ahead and renominate some of the faces from the old cabinet, much to the chagrin of Kenyans who disagreed with the move.
Most Kenyans felt like the Head of State was not sincere in his attempts to change Kenya and the tinkering was purely cosmetic.
Among the big names that made it back to cabinet were; Soipan Tuya (Defence), Aden Duale (Environment and Climate Change), Alice Wahome (Lands), Kipchumba Murkomen (Youth & Sports), Davis Chirchir (Roads & Transport), Salim Mvurya (Investments & Trade), Rebecca Miano (Tourism & Wildlife) and Alfred Mutua (Labour).
