Rights body says Ruto’s cabinet sacking not enough, wants further action

The Kenya Human Rights Commission on Thursday said the decision by President William Ruto to send his entire cabinet members is welcome but not enough.

The human rights body now wants Ruto to also immediately dismiss Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, whom he spared.

The organisation, through a statement, said Mudavadi occupies an illegal office that cannot be redeemed through the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report.

The Davies Malombe-led rights body also demands that all principal secretaries (PSs) must be sent home. “The entire state and public service system requires a thorough purge. An audit of capacity and integrity across the public service must be conducted, and new vetting and mandatory wealth declaration processes must be implemented,” read the statement.

They are also agitating for all those responsible for deaths, injuries and loss of properties to be held accountable. In their view, outgoing ministers and current security chiefs must be prosecuted.

“Those still serving must be ousted. Efforts must be made to blacklist and lustrate those responsible for violations and abuses before and after the August 2022 general elections.”

They have urged Kenyans to start preparing to recall MPs who backed the Finance Bill, 2024 and those involved in other constitutional violations advising that the dissolution of the current parliament must be pursued with urgency as there is no time to waste.

“Ruto’s new cabinet must be capped at 14 members per the constitution, with at least two-thirds being women. It must also include a fair number of youth and persons with disabilities, with genuine representation of Kenya's ethnic diversity. The persistent exclusion and marginalisation based on ethnicity, gender, and other biases must end. This inclusive governance must extend to county levels.”

They want every nominee for the new cabinet to be of impeccable integrity, as required by Article 73 of the Kenyan constitution and that the vetting process must be rigorous and transparent, avoiding the sanitisation acts that they attributed to the current parliament which they claim it is compromised, rendering it untrustworthy.

They also demand that the Head of State admit the blunders and misgovernance that they claim are orchestrated by his government despite the many promises made during the 2022 campaigns.

“Stop extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and other threats to those involved in the protests. Foster human rights-centered governance in line with Article 19, which decrees the Bill of Rights as the basis of making public policies. As per Article 238(1)(c) of the constitution, it is time to banish the punitive, repressive policing culture,” the lobby further demanded.

Among the actions they want taken also include establishing a framework for accountability for those culpable and the creation of effective support and remedies for those affected by state-instigated violations.

The rights organisation is also opposed to Ruto’s call for dialogue. “We strongly believe Ruto’s inability to respect the people's will and the constitution's edicts has intensified the current predicament. Most of the issues and processes are within his sphere of control, where requisite political goodwill and effective administrative action are duly required. It is time to deliver and end the blame game.”