Kenyan leader nominates allies of his opponent to cabinet

Kenya’s president, William Ruto, has appointed members of the country’s largest opposition party in fulfillment of a promise to form a national unity government following deadly anti-tax protests and demands for his resignation.

Ruto named John Mbadi as finance minister and Hassan Joho as cabinet secretary for mining, blue economy, and maritime affairs during a media briefing at his Nairobi residence on Wednesday. Wycliffe Oparanya was picked as cabinet secretary for cooperatives, and Opiyo Wandayi as cabinet secretary for energy.

The four, listed among ten nominees, are top officials of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), whose leader, Raila Odinga, is a vocal critic of Ruto’s administration. Odinga has unsuccessfully challenged Ruto’s victory in the East African country’s 2022 presidential elections, alleging vote rigging.

“Their willingness to set aside partisan positions and interests in order to join a visionary partnership for the radical transformation of Kenya is a historic gesture of their patriotism,” Ruto said.

“I know and I understand acutely the huge expectations of the people of Kenya on me and this administration,” he added.

Earlier this month, the Kenyan leader fired most cabinet members and announced a decision to form a “broad-based” government after weeks of violent demonstrations forced him to withdraw a finance bill that aimed to raise $2.7 billion in tax. Ruto announced 11 nominations last week, retaining six members from the previous cabinet.

Organizers of the protests, which the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights says resulted in at least 50 deaths, have criticized the opposition’s decision to join Ruto’s cabinet.

On Wednesday, Boniface Mwangi, a prominent anti-government activist known as ‘the people’s watchman’, branded opposition leader Odinga as a “traitor.”

“He has betrayed the people and formed a government of national looting with Zakayo [nickname for Ruto],” Mwangi wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Zakayo is the Swahili name for the biblical character Zacchaeus, who is depicted as a greedy tax collector.

Earlier, Odinga denied accepting bribes to join Ruto’s government. On Tuesday, the politician backed a statement from his party’s secretary general, cautioning that seeking ministerial positions would be in contravention of ODM policy.

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