President William Ruto has dissolved his cabinet, including the position of Attorney General held by Justin Muturi.
The political shake-up was necessitated by deadly protests that erupted last month denouncing the Finance Bill 2024.
READ: List of Ousted Cabinet Secretaries and their Positions
The protests went from addressing the controversial Tax Bill to highlighting government incompetence and corruption, amid economic hardships burdening the common Mwananchi.
Only the Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, and Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi, retain their positions amid these changes.
Moving forward, the ministries will be temporarily managed by permanent secretaries.
“I have decided to dismiss with immediate effect all the cabinet secretaries and the Attorney General of the cabinet of Kenya, except the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Diaspora Affairs. The office of the Deputy President is not affected in any way,” the Head of State said in a televised address on Thursday, July 11.
A broad-based government will be formed once the President engages various stakeholders and advisers, in the backdrop of a multi-sectoral team formed by Ruto and former opposition leader Raila Odinga.
“I will 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 and expediting the necessary, urgent and irreversible, implementation of radical programmes to deal with the burden of debt, raising domestic resources, expanding job opportunities, eliminate wastage and unnecessary duplication of a multiplicity of government agencies and slay the dragon of corruption consequently making the government lean, inexpensive, effective and efficient,” Ruto said.
The move is likely to be in line with talk of a national cohesion government in the making, as Ruto’s regime grapples with increasing civil unrest spearheaded by Kenya’s Gen Z demography.
This situation is reminiscent of Kenya’s third President, Mwai Kibaki, who suspended parliament and dismissed his Cabinet after the defeat of a constitutional referendum, which was seen as a vote of no confidence in Kibaki’s rule.
