{"id":105888,"date":"2024-12-21T11:03:15","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T11:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2024\/12\/21\/khrc-cites-ethnic-and-gender-bias-in-rutos-cabinet-reshuffle\/"},"modified":"2024-12-21T11:03:15","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T11:03:15","slug":"khrc-cites-ethnic-and-gender-bias-in-rutos-cabinet-reshuffle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/khrc-cites-ethnic-and-gender-bias-in-rutos-cabinet-reshuffle\/","title":{"rendered":"KHRC Cites Ethnic and Gender Bias in Ruto\u2019s Cabinet Reshuffle"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI Kenya, Dec 21 \u2014 The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has criticized President William Ruto\u2019s recent cabinet changes, alleging they violate constitutional provisions on ethnic and gender balance. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Commission has called for the rejection of what it termed Ruto\u2019s \u201cself-serving\u201d governance approach.<\/p>\n

In a strongly worded statement on Saturday, KHRC accused the president of advancing regional and gender discrimination under the guise of a \u201cbroad-based\u201d and \u201call-inclusive\u201d government. It claimed the appointments are elitist and contradict Ruto\u2019s \u201chustlers vs dynasties\u201d campaign narrative.<\/p>\n

Concerns Over Ethnic and Gender Imbalance<\/strong><\/h3>\n

KHRC pointed out that with the new nominations, the Mt. Kenya region would dominate the cabinet, comprising 35% of its members if the National Assembly approves the appointments of Mutahi Kagwe, William Kabogo, and Lee Kinyanjui.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeven out of 20 cabinet secretaries will be from the Mt. Kenya region, excluding the President, Deputy President, and Attorney General. This amounts to 34.7% of the cabinet,\u201d the Commission stated.<\/p>\n

It further argued that the appointments breach Articles 10, 27, and 130 of the Constitution, which require inclusivity, equity, and regional diversity in public service.<\/p>\n

\u201cArticle 27 (8) mandates that not more than two-thirds of appointive bodies shall be of the same gender, while Article 130 (2) emphasizes that the composition of the national executive must reflect the regional and ethnic diversity of Kenya,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

Criticism of Key Appointments<\/strong><\/h3>\n

KHRC also accused Ruto of undermining Kenya\u2019s diversity by appointing five of former President Uhuru Kenyatta\u2019s allies from the central region. The Commission linked these appointments to the president\u2019s efforts to regain support in Mt. Kenya following the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is hypocritical for Ruto to impeach Gachagua for ethnic chauvinism while engaging in worse forms of ethnic, regional, and gender discrimination for political survival,\u201d KHRC said.<\/p>\n

Call to Action<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Commission urged constitutional and independent bodies, including the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), to hold the government accountable for constitutional breaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is unacceptable for these bodies to remain silent in the face of blatant violations of the Constitution. Their failure to act undermines the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusivity,\u201d KHRC stated.<\/p>\n

Background on Cabinet Reshuffle<\/strong><\/h3>\n

On Thursday, Ruto nominated Uhuru allies Mutahi Kagwe, William Kabogo, and Lee Kinyanjui to the cabinet. Kagwe, a former Health CS, has been nominated to head the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, while Kinyanjui and Kabogo were nominated as CS for Investments, Trade, and Industry, and CS for Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy, respectively.<\/p>\n

The appointments have been forwarded to the National Assembly for approval, as required by law.<\/p>\n

The reshuffle, seen as a strategic political move, has sparked mixed reactions, with some praising it as inclusive and others condemning it for alleged constitutional violations.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI Kenya, Dec 21 \u2014 The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has criticized President William Ruto\u2019s recent cabinet changes, alleging they violate constitutional provisions on ethnic and gender balance. The Commission has called for the rejection of what it termed Ruto\u2019s \u201cself-serving\u201d governance approach. In a strongly worded statement on Saturday, KHRC accused the president […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105888\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}