Alice Wahome’s Past Ruling Haunts Ruto’s Cabinet Decision
Water Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome sued former President Uhuru Kenyatta on September 15, 2020. After he granted Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Director General Mohammed Badi permission to join his Cabinet.
The case was decided in favor of Wahome, and on September 23, 2021. The court determined that the former Head of State violated the constitution by appointing Badi to the cabinet.
Ironically, two years later, Wahome participated in a cabinet meeting that decided to add additional Cabinet members. A move that legal experts believe violates Article 152 of the Constitution.
On September 27, during a cabinet meeting, it was decided that United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General Cleophas Malala and Presidential Council of Economic Advisors Chairman David Ndii would participate in cabinet proceedings.
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Others permitted to participate in cabinet meetings include National Security Advisor Monica Juma and Women’s Rights Advisor Harriette Chiggai.
In the Wahome case, the court ruled that Article 152 of the Constitution limits Cabinet meetings to the President, Vice President, Attorney General, and fourteen to twenty-two cabinet secretaries.
In addition, the court ruled that Badi’s participation in cabinet meetings was not sanctioned by the National Assembly, making it unclear who would oversee him.
Ruto’s inclusion of Malala, Ndii, Juma, and Chiggai in cabinet meetings was also not communicated to Parliament, thereby limiting the oversight authority of the Members of Parliament over the quartet.
As with Badi, the inclusion of the four violated Article 130 of the Constitution, which states that the National Executive can only consist of the President, his vice president, and cabinet secretaries.
In Uhuru’s administration, former Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju participated in cabinet deliberations.
To ensure that he did not violate the constitution, Uhuru appointed Tuju as a Cabinet Secretary without a portfolio.
Malala, who, like Tuju, is a Secretary General of the ruling party, did not receive the same treatment from Ruto.
Alice Wahome’s Past Ruling Haunts Ruto’s Cabinet Decision
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