Cabinet reshuffle: The main aim was maintaining status quo

The recent move by President Uhuru Kenyatta to reshuffle his Cabinet was timely. In the wake of the recent public outcry about runaway corruption in the Government, it was important for him to assure the country of his commitment to fight the menace.

The reshuffle came hot on the heels of the formation of a multi-sectoral agency that brings together the Judiciary, the private sector, Parliament, the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Council of Governors to draft an anti-graft strategy. It will be interesting to see how this will turn out in the coming days. However, the reshuffle brought to the fore three pertinent issues that cannot be wished away.

First, it is completely incomprehensible why the President had to throw the country into another wave of snap elections. The nomination of Kericho Senator Charles Keter and Malindi MP Dan Kazungu to the Cabinet means that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has to organise for elections to fill the vacant positions in the Senate and the National Assembly.

In the recent past, the President also appointed Joseph Nkaissery, then the Kajiado Central MP, to the Cabinet necessitating an election. The lingering question is this: Is the country facing a shortage of qualified personnel to fit into the Cabinet?

The country spends a lot of money on these elections; funds that can be channeled to other development needs should the President settle on other qualified individuals outside Parliament. Looked at critically, the President is violating the law by appointing elected leaders to the Cabinet. The Constitution clearly provides for separation of powers and therefore those proposed to the Cabinet should not be holders of elective posts.

Secondly, it is apparent Uhuru seems to be held hostage by regional and tribal expectations when making appointments. It appears the norm that when Government officials are dropped for whatever reasons, they are replaced by individuals from the same tribe. It all started with the replacement of former Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo who was replaced by Joseph Boinnet after intense tribal lobbying by Rift Valley politicians. Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku was replaced by Joseph Nkaissery.

The trend continues with David Chirchir to be replaced by Charles Keter at the Energy ministry. Felix Koskei will replaced by Willy Bett at the Agriculture ministry, while Kazungu Kambi will be replaced by Dan Kazungu. Not to mention Mwangi Kiunjuri replacing Anne Waiguru at the Devolution ministry. This tribal replacement in the Cabinet lends credence to the notion that Jubilee is more concerned with tribal calculations aimed at securing power come 2017 than service delivery. It is clear that professionalism, expertise and experience are no longer considered in appointments.

Jubilee's deliberate efforts of ensuring favourable tribal arithmetic with appointments, indirectly aggravates the problem of negative ethnicity resulting from perceived exclusion of certain tribes. The perception that the Government is made up of two major tribes continues to grow even with these appointments.

Thirdly, the President did not adhere to the two-thirds gender rule enshrined in the Constitution. In addition, the youth also feel sidelined in appointments in spite of Jubilee's campaign pledge to ensure a youthful government. It is indisputable that the archaic practice of rewarding political, tribal and regional cronies is the order of the day in State appointments.