Ruto includes opposition members in new Cabinet

Kenya’s President William Ruto has appointed four members of the main opposition party as part of a new Cabinet as protests continue to rock nation. The announcement came two weeks after Ruto scrapped the previous Cabinet as the protests, prompted by planned tax hikes, swelled, an Al Jazeera report notes. A clampdown by the authorities helped raise the number of people killed to more than 50, with hundreds more wounded. The opposition figures appointed to the new Cabinet are allies of political veteran Raila Odinga, whom Ruto defeated in elections in 2022. John Mbadi Ngo’ongo will lead the Finance Ministry and James Opiyo Wandayi was named Energy Minister. However, the majority of the 20 appointees announced so far were members of the disbanded Cabinet, and reports suggest this has angered some. The nominations must next be approved by Parliament, both chambers of which are controlled, with a slim majority, by allies of Ruto. Despite Ruto’s hope that a new Cabinet, and the inclusion of opposition figures, would help defuse anger, significant scepticism remains. The mostly young protesters said a deal between the rival camps would only perpetuate a tradition of leaders co-opting the opposition with jobs and perks while the population sees no benefits. The protests have been mostly organised online and have stood out for their broad mobilisation of Kenyans across ethnic and regional lines. Demonstrators have condemned the entire political class as corrupt and called for far-reaching reforms to address corruption and poor governance.