Kenyan President William Ruto on Wednesday named four heavyweight opposition politicians to join a “broad-based” cabinet in the wake of more than a month of anti-government protests.
Ruto announced the names of 10 ministers to be part of a reformed cabinet, including four who are close to veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, after a list of another 10 ministers was submitted to parliament on Tuesday.
The embattled president had sacked almost his entire cabinet on July 11, announcing a new partial lineup on July 19, although this included some dismissed ministers.
“I commend the leadership of diverse organisations, both in public and private sectors, including political parties for the encouraging response to my outreach to consult on forming a broad based government,” Ruto said on Wednesday.
“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.”
The four opposition nominees are John Mbadi, who was named to the treasury, James Opiyo Wandayi for energy, Ali Joho to the mining ministry and and Wycliffe Oparanya as head of the cooperatives ministry.
The nominations must be approved by parliament.
Five of those named Wednesday were members of the sacked cabinet.
Since late June, Ruto has undertaken a series of measures to try to contain the crisis, including scrapping deeply unpopular tax increases and pledging cuts to what many see as lavish government spending.
But rallies led largely by Gen-Z Kenyans — while much smaller than last month — have continued across the country under the hashtag #RutoMustGo, with disgruntled activists also seeking action against corruption and alleged police brutality. (AFP).
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