Kenyan President William Ruto on Thursday fired almost his entire cabinet and promised to form a leaner, more efficient new government following weeks of protests against high taxes and poor governance.
In a televised address, the president said he had also fired the attorney general and that each ministry would be run by a permanent secretary.
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Prime Minister Ruto said his decision was made after listening to the public and that he would form a broad-based government through consultation.
Kenya has been in the grip of three weeks of unrest, including when protesters stormed parliament on June 25 after the country passed a finance bill proposing tax hikes. More than 30 people have been killed in the protests, which have escalated into calls for the president to resign.
Kenyan President William Ruto gestures to party officials as he walks with his wife Rachel Ruto as they prepare to address the media at his official residence in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. East Africa’s economic hub sees its ballooning debt rise further after deadly protests rejected a finance bill that President William Ruto said was needed to raise revenues, and he now warns there will be “big consequences.” (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Ruto said his key political ally, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, would remain in his post.
He said his dismissal was the result of a “comprehensive evaluation of the performance” of his cabinet and that the new administration would help him “accelerate and expedite the implementation of a necessary, urgent and irreversible radical program to reduce the debt burden, increase domestic resources, create employment opportunities, eliminate waste and unnecessary duplication in multiple government agencies, and eradicate corruption.”
President Ruto was elected in 2022 and appointed 21 ministers to his cabinet. Critics accused him of deviating from previous practice of selecting political cronies and technocrats to head ministries.
Three ministers resigned from elected positions to take up the ministerial posts, while the others lost elections and are believed to be political appointees from the president.
Several ministries, including the agriculture and health ministries, have been embroiled in corruption scandals involving counterfeit fertilizer and misappropriation of funds.
Protesters have accused the cabinet of incompetence, arrogance and extravagance at a time when Kenyans are struggling with high taxes and a cost of living crisis.
The president has said he will not sign the finance bill that proposes tax increases, but protesters called for his resignation.
Mr Ruto on Friday apologised for the “arrogance and display of wealth” shown by MPs and ministers and said he would take responsibility and speak to them.
He also announced austerity measures, including dissolving 47 public corporations with overlapping functions to cut costs and cutting funding to the Office of the First Lady.
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Analyst and commentator Hermann Magnola said dissolving the government was a “bold step” needed to quell discontent at home.
This is the first time a sitting president has dismissed ministers under the new constitution – the last time was in 2005, when then-President Mwai Kibaki sacked ministers to assert his own political authority after a failed referendum.
