By Hon Moses Kajwang
The true objective of the cabinet announcement was to confirm the sacking of disgraced Cabinet Secretaries (CS) Ngilu, Waiguru, Ole Lenku, Chirchir, Kosgey, Kambi and Kamau (yes, Ole Lenku was still a minister without portfolio).
Then President pooped the party by replacing them with tribesmen. Ngilu with Mailu; Waiguru with Kiunjuri; Chirchir with Keter; Kambi with Kazungu; Kamau with Kariuki; Kosgey with Bett.
Must you be Kalenjin or Kikuyu to have an above average chance of serving this nation as a CS? Article 130(2) of the Constitution requires the executive to reflect the regional and ethnic outlook of the nation.
Was there any ideological message in the reconstituted cabinet?
With Kenya on the verge of an economic, social and political meltdown, and with less than two years to elections, does Jubilee have the luxury to experiment with ministerial appointees?
Take the ministry of Lands as an example; the new appointee is a professor of dentistry who has precipitated the worst education crisis in Kenya in the two years he has served as Education CS. What new ideas will he offer in Lands? Yet unresolved land grievances remain the single most potent issue that can lead to civil war in Kenya.
Then move over to ICT; Joe Mucheru is a well known tech entrepreneur and marketer. But will he fly in the bureaucratic and mafia infested waters in government? What is his philosophy on media freedom, since he will have vast powers to regulate the media?
Look at Mining; Dan Kazungu is a jolly good fellow who made a professional career selling ICT solutions. This is not data mining; this is about going to the bowels of the earth to extract coal and oil and other assets God put there and making sure it benefits Kenyans. While I wish him well, will he succeed where the hardened politician Najib Balala failed?
Then take a look at the new appointee to the powerful and favoured ministry of Devolution and Planning; Mwangi Kiunjuri is a seasoned politician. In 2010 when he was Assistant Minister and was moved from the Ministry of Water to Public Works amid graft claims, he loudly protested that he was a “whistleblower” who was being victimised. This ministry surely attracts whistle-blowers! He was further named by ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda as one of the accomplices of President Uhuru during the 2007/2008 post election violence. Kenya is in trouble if NYS remains under his docket.
The monkeys have changed, but the forest remains the same. Kenyans should brace themselves for a long and hard ride under Jubilee.
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