President William Ruto nominated Permanent Secretaries to head the State Departments, crossing a milestone towards constituting the technical leadership of the Kenya kwanza government.
Kikuyus and Kalenjins dominated the list of the 51 PSs names President William Ruto forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.
For instance, thirteen of the nominees are from President Ruto’s Rift Valley region while 11 others are from Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s vote-rich Mt Kenya region.
These account for 51 percent of the appointments, with all the other regions and communities left to share 49 percent of the slots which were picked from 477 applicants shortlisted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) from a total of 9,154 applicants.
This elicited sharp criticism from a section of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition party which claimed that the list fell short of regional and gender balance.
However, on Friday, November 4, lawyer Miguna Miguna jumped to the defense of President William Ruto for appointing fewer Luos to state departments.
Miguna said there was no way the President could reward leaders from former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s turf yet they did not vote for the current regime.
“ODM are asking me to attack President William Ruto for appointing more Kalenjins and Kikuyus than Luos. 90 percent of Luos voted for Raila Odinga, not William Ruto. You cannot reap where you didn’t sow. We are liberating the Luo Nation from Odinga Slavery!” Miguna said in a Tweet.
Professor Macharia Munene, a historian and a political analyst, said several factors were at play in the selection of the nominees ranging from loyalty to expertise.
“The list is a mixture of politicians and experienced bureaucrats, which was expected because the President had politicians to reward for standing with him, and also to ensure he has people who are supportive of him and his agenda,” Macharia said as quoted by the People Daily.
