Kenya’s Ruto Announces New Cabinet Appointments

Kenya's President William Ruto, addressing the nation on Friday, announced the appointment of 11 new secretaries to the country's cabinet after dismissing all but the Deputy President and the Foreign Minister in the aftermath of mass protests against a now-withdrawn finance bill..What You Need to Know.Announcing his intent to form a broad-based government as protestors called for the implementation of anti-corruption measures and remedies for the rising cost of living in the country, Ruto re-appointed six cabinet secretaries and proposed five new secretaries which will be considered by the National Assembly..Seeking to fill 22 roles, and according to local sources, the President reached out to opposition leader Raila Odinga, head of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and the Azimo La Umoja (Azimo) coalition, to fill several cabinet positions with ODM party members. Pushing back against the proposed broad-based government is Raila's Azimo partners, most notably Kalonzo Musyoka-leader of the Wiper Democratic Movement- who declared on Thursday that the proposed government changes will only be 'cosmetic', and constitutes a "betrayal of the Kenyan people, particularly Gen Z and millennials.".In hoping to retain six of his previous cabinet secretaries from the Ministries of the Interior and National Administration; Defense; Lands, Roads and Transport; Environment, Climate Change and Forestry; Public Works, Urban Development and Housing, Ruto has garnered harsh criticism, particularly from the Azimo coalition..Ruto's five 'new faces' proposed to the National Assembly for consideration are as follows:.Dr Debra Mulongo Barasa, to the Ministry of Health,.Mr Julius Migosi Ogamba, to the Ministry of Education,.Dr Andrew Mwihia Karanja, to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development,.Mr Eric Muriithi Muuga, to the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation,.Ms Margaret Nyambura Ndung'u, to the Ministry of Information, Communication and Digital Economy..However, protests against the now-withdrawn finance bill, which morphed into wider anti-government and specifically anti-Ruto protests have continued, with the Kenyan Human Rights Commission announcing the death of 50 protestors since the unrest began in mid-June..Engaging the youth through a series of live question-answer sessions on X (Twitter), Ruto sought to create a dialogue with the disenchanted Gen Z and millennial population, although speaking today, the President stated, "They said they don't want the finance bill, I dropped it. I invited them for dialogue, they said they want me to join them on X. They were not there. I have now asked for dialogue again, they have declined. They are saying that they are faceless and formless. My friends, it must now come to an end. I have given a chance for everybody to say what they want. The country is more important than any group of people.".Moreover, the conflicting wishes of Raila Odinga and his coalition partners have made the formation of a broad-based government increasingly difficult..So, What Now?.Since the onset of the finance bill protests in mid-June, President Ruto has grappled with catering to the competing wishes of his citizens as well as financial institutions such as the IMF, who backed the withdrawn bill..Brutality by Kenyan security services exacerbated the grievances of the protesters, and is directly linked to the morphing of the finance bill protests to anti-Ruto protests. And while President Ruto has attempted to appease his citizens, even through the creation of the broad-based government, external actors, such as the Azimo coalition have refused to participate, which will further harm Ruto's attempts to return the government to a state of normalcy.