President William Ruto Swears-In 50 Cabinet Administrative Secretaries (CAS), After Parliament Says It Has No Role in Vetting Them.

Critics have called the move to appoint CAS illegal, wasteful and unnecessary at a time when the country is facing economic hardship.

by Nancy Kahaki

March 22, 2023June 20, 2023

President William Ruto Swears-In 50 Cabinet Administrative Secretaries (CAS), After Parliament Says It Has No Role in Vetting Them.

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Moving at lightning speed, President William Ruto today and State House Nairobi presided over the swearing-in ceremony of 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) just hours after appointing them in defiance of the Kenyan Parliament.

Notable appointments

Dennis Itumbi, Ministry of Information, Communications, and The Digital Economy

Evans Kidero, Ministry of Investments, Trade & Industry

Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, Ministry of Co-Operatives and Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development

Millicent Omanga, Ministry of Interior and National Administration

Former Laikipia MP Cate Waruguru appointed CAS for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs

Earlier in the Day, Ruto took executive action appointing all the CAS nominees without vetting after the Speaker of The National Assembly, Moses Wetangula, wrote to the president that the House had no constitutional obligation to vet the nominees.

The appointment of the CAS has faced much criticism in Kenya, with critics saying the positions are redundant and a waste of taxpayer money when the country faces economic headwinds.

The event was broadcasted live on President Ruto’s Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1nAKErWvDWbGL

The Public Service Commission (PSC) classification entitles CAS to a monthly salary of Sh765,188, excluding other monthly allowances.

They are also entitled to a one-off car grant of Ksh10 million and a mortgage of Ksh35 million. It’s estimated that if all take advantage of these perks, it would cost the taxpayer Ksh2.2 billion on mortgages and car grants alone.

Wetangula washed his hands off the vetting duty, which would have prolonged the process, handing Ruto a clear path to enact his appointments.

President William Ruto has appointed all the 50 CAS nominees after Parliament declines to vet them, saying there is no Constitutional rule to support the process.https://t.co/GXtIIsU6Bi pic.twitter.com/yqaTtdylH2

— Africana Voice (Formerly Hotseatnews) (@AfricanaVoice) March 22, 2023

“The obligation to respect, uphold and defend the constitution enjoins the House to refrain from assuming and discharging a role that is not expressly assigned by the constitution or written by the law,” Wetangula’s memo to the president read in part.

With parliament out of the way, the president moved quickly and officially appointed the 50 CAS, some his close friends in the Kenyan Kwanza campaigns, who missed other government appointments.

But there’s a legal challenge.

The legal petition goes against the appointment of 27 extra CAS received a nod to go ahead on Tuesday. The case filed by Eliud Karanja Mutindi, a Kenyan based in the UK, states the PSC only mandated the appointment of 23 CAS.

The appointed secretaries include former Nairobi Woman Representative Millicent Omanga, appointed CAS for Interior, former Laikipia Member of Parliament Cate Waruguru, appointed CAS for foreign and diaspora affairs, and former Nairobi governor Evans Kidero, appointed CAS in the Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry. Kidero is also who is viewed as Ruto’s point man in Luo Nyanza, positioned to counter Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s influence in the region.

The ceremony took place at State House, Nairobi.