Ruto’s party men want MPs to join the Cabinet

What you need to know:

  • Last week, Kipkelion East MP Joseph Limo backed a similar proposal, saying MPs were more likely to engage the public and listen to their views compared with Cabinet Secretaries appointed from outside Parliament.

Some URP politicians want the law amended to allow the President to run for a parliamentary seat and pick ministers from among MPs and Senators.

In what could radically change the Executive, United Republican Party MPs are plotting to draft a Bill that if passed into law, would require the President to pick future Cabinet Secretaries from the pool of elected leaders.

The Constitution, which was ratified in 2010, provides that Cabinet Secretaries should not be MPs or senators.

Lawmakers Benjamin Lang’at (Ainamoi), Jackson Kiptanui (Keiyo South) and William Kisang (Marakwet West) said the drafters of the Constitution made a “mistake” when they barred MPs from being included in the Cabinet.

Mr Lang’at said some of the current CSs had lost touch with issues affecting Kenyans and failed to bond with citizens the way MPs would when they were ministers.

“They do not even go around the country to see the problems facing Kenyans. We want to remove duplication of roles because ministries can be efficiently run by legislators,” he said.
The three spoke in Kericho during a fundraiser at St Theresa’s Girls Primary School.

Mr Kisang added that he and like-minded MPs wanted the changes put in place before 2017 so that Cabinet Secretaries in the next government will be elected leaders.

“We are having difficulties working with some Cabinet Secretaries in Parliament. We are exploring all possibilities through which we can have the law altered to allow legislators appointed as Cabinet Secretaries,” he said.

Bomet governor Isaac Ruto also supported the calls, saying gubernatorial candidates could also contest for county assembly positions in their respective counties.

The move, he said, would ensure that politicians serve the public even if they lose governor’s or presidential elections.

Last week, Kipkelion East MP Joseph Limo backed a similar proposal, saying MPs were more likely to engage the public and listen to their views compared with Cabinet Secretaries appointed from outside Parliament.

He said Rift Valley politicians were comfortable in the Jubilee Alliance and had no plans to ditch the coalition until Deputy President William Ruto becomes president in 2022, “when President Uhuru Kenyatta completes his two-term constitutional limit.”

Mr Kiptanui told off opponents of Deputy President William Ruto who are in URP and urged them to let Mr Ruto work.

The Keiyo South MP termed some URP politicians who have attacked the deputy president as “political pirates” who should be stopped before they sink the Jubilee Ship.

“We should support our leaders. The few people from within who are running around the country criticising Mr Ruto should know that is the role of the opposition, not people who are supposed to be in government,” he added.