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NAIROBI. – Kenyan President William Ruto yesterday announced the dismissal of almost his entire cabinet and consultations to form a “broad-based government” following widespread anti-government protests.
Mr Ruto said his decision would apply to all ministers, including the attorney general, but it excluded Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi.
“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 vice president is not affected in any way,” Mr Ruto said in a televised address on Thursday.
He will engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations to set up a “broad-based” government that will assist him in dealing with the burden of debt, raising domestic resources, eliminating wastage and corruption in government and expanding job opportunities for the youth.
“During this process, the operations of government will continue uninterrupted under the guidance of Principal Secretaries and other relevant officials,” Ruto said.
On Tuesday, the president reached out to opposition leader Raila Odinga to help quell the tensions that have gripped the country for a month. The current crisis started after the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition failed to heed calls to reject the controversial 2024 Finance Bill, which was finally withdrawn on June 25 after demonstrators overran parliament.
The sweeping cabinet changes were what Kenyans have been asking for, veteran anti-corruption activist John Githongo told Reuters.
“Let us see what happens now if the new ministers deal with big issues around corruption and just the arrogance and excess of his administration and the fact that a lot of Kenyans died during the demonstrations,” he said. “Hopefully this should temporarily calm things.”
Mr Ruto has been caught between the demands of lenders such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cut deficits and a hard-pressed population reeling from rising cost of living.
But what started as protests against new taxes on bread, cars, diapers, and sanitary towels, among other items, has now morphed into calls for Mr Ruto to resign, with Kenyans accusing his government of corruption, extra-judicial killings, abductions, and incompetence
The East African nation was left reeling after peaceful rallies last month to protest planned steep tax increases flared into deadly violence, with police firing at crowds who stormed the Parliament of Kenya, leaving it partly ablaze.
Protests against the tax hike began in June and widened into a broader campaign against Ruto and his government, with some demonstrations descending into violence that has left dozens dead.
Last week, the Kenyan leader announced sharp cuts to government spending in response to growing anger over his cabinet’s travel and renovation budgets while ordinary citizens struggled to cope with a cost-of-living crisis. – Agencies
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