Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi. He has poked holes into
President Uhuru Kenyatta's cabinet reshuffle. PHOTO | ROBERT NGUGI |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi has criticised
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s new 21-member Cabinet saying it does not
represent the face of Kenya.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mr Mudavadi also said that the line-up did not meet the two third gender rule.
The
former Deputy Prime Minister also advised Mr Kenyatta against
“poaching” elected leaders into the Cabinet saying it leads to
unnecessary and costly by-elections.
President Kenyatta
has nominated Kericho senator Charles Keter to head the Energy docket
and Likoni MP Dan Kazungu as Mining Cabinet Secretary.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery was MP for Kajiado Central on an ODM ticket.
“The
reshuffle didn’t change the platform Jubilee operates on. It was merely
an issue of slotting individuals in a pre-determined TNA/URP line-up.
The opportunity for an inclusive executive was once again missed,” said
the ANC boss.
He noted that the newly reconstituted
Cabinet released on Tuesday night by President Kenyatta failed to meet
conditional quotas for regional and gender balance.
“In fact the women of Kenya have lost big,” said the former Premier.
“The
one-third gender constitutional requirement has been broken. The
original six women have been reduced to five in a Cabinet of twenty-one
(including the Attorney General),” he said.
Mr Mudavadi asked Kenyans to ensure that the Jubilee coalition does not get a second term.
“I
am so saddened when people refer to the Jubilee leadership as youthful
as if to suggest they should be forgiven for the mistakes they make. The
time has come for Kenyans to hold the Jubilee leadership to account to
ensure they deliver on their promises and if they do not, voters should
prepare to send them packing,” said Mr Mudavadi.
At the
same time, Mr Mudavadi asked the Luhya community to back his
Presidential bid for 2017 saying the country deserved a better and
serious leadership to address the many challenges facing Kenyans.
He
challenged Parliament to interrogate whether the newly reconstituted
Cabinet meets the requirements of section 130 of the Constitution that
requires the composition of the national executive to reflect the
regional and ethnic diversity of the people of Kenya.
And
speaking separately, Emurua Dikkir MP Johanna Ngeno asked authorities
to prosecute the Cabinet secretaries who were sacked over corruption
allegations.
“The fact that Mr Kenyatta did not bring
back the five ministers who had been suspended over corruption
allegations means they have a case to answer.
“And to bring justice to this country, we expect prosecution to follow and public money recovered,” said Mr Ngeno.
Those
who were fired on Tuesday night are former Land minister Charity Ngilu,
Mr Felix Koskei (Agriculture), David Chirchir (Energy), Anne Waiguru
(Devolution) and Engineer Michael Kamau of Roads.
“The
President still has a discretion to appoint one or two more women to
address the gender gap. He can create a lighter cabinet slot for former
Devolution CS Anne Waiguru who said she needed lighter duties,” said Mr
Ngeno.
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