Lobby faults Ruto PS nominees list
A top human rights agency has faulted President William Ruto over his list of Principal Secretary nominees, saying it was unconstitutional.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has accused Ruto of ignoring constitutional provisions in the appointments of National Assembly Committee leaders and nominations of PSs.
In a statement, KHRC raised the alarm on the breach of the two-thirds gender rule and the ethnic balance requirement, citing Article 27(3) of the Constitution, which provides for equality and freedom from discrimination.
“During the recently concluded elections campaigns, Ruto made a declaration to ensure the actualisation of the two-thirds gender rule in accordance with Article 27(8) of the Constitution, which provides that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender. However, the President has continuously failed to honour this constitutional requirement and his commitment to achieve a 50:50 gender balance in the appointments and nominations,” the statement read.
The statement signed by Executive Director Davis Malombe termed the PS nominations “the boldest disregard for the principles of inclusivity encompassed in Article 10 of the Constitution”.
According to the commission, the nominations were a clear indication the President was still in ‘election and campaign mode’ and had failed to understand his role as a symbol and pillar of national unity.
“To add on to that, only 11 women were nominated as PSs, leaving out Persons with Disabilities out of the possible 51 PSs. The continuous and deliberate marginalisation of other communities from the decision-making spaces is retrogressive and endangers the spirit of nation cohesion and integration,” the statement said.
The commission demanded the President recall the nominations and deliver on his undertaking to meet the two-thirds gender rule and constitutional thresholds on ethnic balance and the inclusion of special interest groups.
The lobby also asked the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC), the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) to hold the Executive and the Legislature accountable for failing to uphold the Constitution.
On Wednesday, Ruto submitted a list of 51 nominees to the National Assembly for vetting and approval, drawing mixed reactions from different political factions.
And in Nyamira county, leaders joined the outcry over the nominations, accusing the president of excluding the Kisii community from government appointments, saying Ruto had pushed the community out of ministerial and PS positions that it had held since independence.
West Mugirango MP Steve Mogaka told the President that Kisiis were tax-paying Kenyans whose political and constitutional rights entitled them to senior positions in the national government.
“Kisiis are Kenyans who are entitled to appointments to key positions in the national government whether they supported his candidature or not,” he said.
Mogaka criticised Ruto for awarding the lion’s share of government appointments to the Kalenjin and Kikuyu communities.
“Our constitution advocates for regional balance when it comes to such nominations and appointments, but Ruto has chosen to ignore the same constitution which he swore to protect, “ Mogaka said.
He vowed to mobilize fellow Members of Parliament to reject the list of nominees when it is tabled in the National Assembly for approval.
Kitutu Masaba MP Clive Gisairo said he had anticipated Ruto’s move, choosing instead to support Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga in the just concluded elections.
“We told our people not to vote for Ruto, but they refused to listen to our advice. They should stop crying now because those are the fruits of the wrong choice in leadership,” he said.
