By ROSELYNE OBALA
It perhaps will go down in the history of the country as the longest wait for the naming of a Cabinet. And the wait isn’t over yet. There are still two slots to be filled to complete the lsit.
Such are the firsts that highlight the early days of the Uhuru regime. Yesterday, as President Uhuru called out names of each of the 12 nominees, familiar and unfamiliar personalities stepped out from State House building onto the lawns, signalling the freshness of the Cabinet.
The President and Deputy President William Ruto kept up their easy-going show to liven up what would otherwise be a drab and rigid State function.
While the President read out the resume of each of the nominees, his Deputy showed them where to stand, perhaps acts calculated to portray them as a team with clear definition of roles.
Yesterday, like Tuesday when they announced the first four nominees, the two had rolled up their sleeves. They wore white shirts, grey trousers but different coloured ties.
There were two lecterns so that the nominees spoke from the one used by the Deputy President. That way the Head of State didn’t have to step back like was the case on Tuesday when they shared the presidential lectern. This was among the evident adjustments as the new regime settles down. It was a refreshing manner to introduce their new Cabinet unlike their predecessors who sent a dispatch to the media houses.
SHOW OF CAMARADERIE
The two leaders put up a show of camaraderie evident after the ceremony when instead of the short walk into the building they turned back for the longer route round as cameras clicked.
But poor time keeping in naming the Cabinet and the suspense palpable in the nation stood out like a neon light. The President had promised the previous night — after postponing the exercise despite keeping journalists waiting for hours — that the announcement would be done “latest 9am” yesterday.
On Wednesday Head of Presidential Press Service Isaiah Kabira had informed the press that they were going to make the announcement at 6.15pm to allow Kenyans be part of the historic event.
“On Tuesday we received many complaints from members of the public who lamented that the announcement caught them unawares,” he stated.
He added: “The leaders have decided to heed the people’s call and they will make the announcement at 6.15pm to enable those held in traffic be part of the historic announcement.”
Instead Uhuru and Ruto came out to apologise profusely they were not ready yet. The President blamed the tight schedule owing to earlier discussions with the visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister.It had to be a sensitive issue to have priority over the Cabinet.
Yesterday, the eagerly awaited moment happened after nearly three hours.
A battery of journalists had thronged State House gate as early as 6am, the president had promised they would “burn the mid-night oil,” to deliver the list on time.
They endured the scorching sun and engaged in banter as time wore on.
The Head of State displayed humble mannerisms, apologising to journalists that he wouldn’t take as many questions because he had to rush for another engagement at the Coast.
