The High Court has ruled that President William Ruto acted within the Constitution when he appointed politicians affiliated with the opposition to his cabinet, rejecting a petition that sought to block the nominations on the grounds that the appointments violated constitutional principles.
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, July 7, a three-judge bench at the Milimani Law Courts dismissed the challenge to the nomination, vetting, and appointment of ODM-affiliated politicians as Cabinet Secretaries. The court linked the dispute to Ruto’s decision to dissolve his cabinet in July 2024, amid protests against the anti-Finance Bill.
The petitioners, including Katiba Institute and Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, argued that bringing opposition figures into the cabinet breaches the constitution and undermines Kenya’s multi-party democracy.
But in a majority decision of two against one, the judges held that political affiliation does not automatically disqualify a person from being appointed as a Cabinet Secretary.
This means that President Ruto acted within the constitution to appoint National Treasury CS John Mbadi, Wycliffe Oparanya of Cooperatives, Opiyo Wandayi of Energy, Hassan Joho of Mining, and Beatrice Askul of East African Community and Regional Development, who were all affiliated with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party by the time they were named to the cabinet.
According to the court, the constitution does not recognize an official opposition as a constitutional institution, meaning the president is not barred from appointing members of opposition parties to serve in government.
During the ruling, the judges also addressed the legality of Ruto’s decision to reappoint CSs after dissolving the cabinet in 2024, stating that the president was right to make the reappointments.
According to the ruling, dismissal under Article 152(5)(b) of the constitution did not automatically render the affected cabinet secretaries ineligible for future appointment.
The judges found that Ruto’s dissolution of the cabinet amounted to a political and administrative reorganization rather than a disciplinary measure. They also concluded that the petitioners did not establish any breach of Chapter Six of the Constitution on leadership and integrity against the Cabinet Secretaries who were reappointed.
The post High Court Upholds Ruto’s Appointment of ODM Politicians to Cabinet appeared first on Bossnana.
