- Omtatah said President William Ruto failed to implement what the Gen Z demanded during their demonstrations.
- The inclusion of former CSs and a number of opposition leaders in the new team caused uproar from the Gen Z and a section of leaders.
Image: OKIYA OMTATAH
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has said the government has failed to listen to concerns raised by Gen Z protesters.
He said President William Ruto failed to implement what the Gen Z demanded during their demonstrations.
Ruto conceded to a number of demands made by the youthfull protesters including withdrawing the Finance Bill, 2024 and reconstituting his cabinet.
The inclusion of former CSs and a number of opposition leaders in the new team however caused uproar from the Gen Z and a section of leaders.
Omtatah opposed the move to nominate four ODM leaders in the broad-based cabinet saying it is unconstitutional.
In a video message on Saturday, Omtatah said he will be forced to form a shadow cabinet to put Ruto's government in check.
"If that cabinet is established, some of us will be constrained to set up a shadow cabinet because we shall no longer be having a presidential system where you have majority and minority sides checking the Executive," he said.
"We shall have a de facto Parliamentary system where power emanates from the House and therefore some of us must and will be constrained to set up a shadow cabinet that can effectively check the excesses of the government."
The President on Wednesday made public his final list of cabinet nominees.
Ruto, however, did not name the Attorney General and East African Community and ASAL nominees.
Among those nominated are four members of the Orange Democratic Movement including former Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho in the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy; Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives and MSME Development); John Mbadi (National Treasury) and Opiyo Wandayi to head the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum.
"I’m saddened especially by the inclusion of Members of Parliament from the opposition party and leaders in that Cabinet list,"Omtatah said on Wednesday.
"That for me says that the President has decided that he will govern this country without the constitution that he swore to protect, defend and promote," he added.
The senator said the move to nominate MPs from the opposition party is insensitive to the economic times the country is in.
On Friday, a petition was filed seeking to stop the appointment of Azimio leader Raila Odinga's key allies nominated to the cabinet.
In the petition, Julius Ogogoh, the Executive Director of Commission for Human Rights said their nomination will have a negative effect as their subsequent appointment will disable the opposition from discharging its oversight role on the operation of the government.
Ogogoh in his petition before the court said the opposition has a constitutional and parliamentary duty to offer checks and balances and in particular to oversight the actions of the government.
“Should any member of the parties forming the Azimio coalition be nominated and successfully appointed into the Cabinet, the opposition in the National Assembly stands to be conflicted,” Ogogoh stated in his petition.
Through advocate Nicholas Kamwendwa, the commission stated the four have a constitutional duty to oversight the function of the executive and other arms of the government.
He explained that their nomination and appointment into the Cabinet shall conflict with their constitutional duty bestowed upon the opposition party by Kenyans and the Constitution to oversight the government and to provide checks and balances.
They want the court to suspend the nomination of the four for appointment as Cabinet Secretaries.