Cabinet must reaffirm its commitment to serve Kenyans

President Uhuru Kenyatta reshuffled his Cabinet last week bringing on board two new faces just as his administration was marking its second year in office and at a time his approval rating was beginning to slip.

Except for the nominated Water and Irrigation Services Cabinet Secretary, Mr Eugene Wamalwa, who served as Justice minister under the coalition government, the other appointee, Dr Monica Juma, is considered an apolitical technocrat.

Dr Monica Juma, who stepped in as the Secretary to the Cabinet in place of sacked Francis Kimemia, was previously at Interior Affairs and her engagement is likely to be devoid of the political baggage her predecessor brought to the office.
The President also changed the command structure of the military with Gen Samson Mwathethe taking over as Chief of Defence Forces, replacing retired Gen Julius Karangi.

The appointment of Gen Mwathethe and Lt Gen Leonard Muriuki Ngondi as the new Kenya Army commander, and the move by his predecessor Lt Gen Joseph Kasaon to become the Vice Chief of Defence Forces, completes the changes in the security apparatus that began with the replacement of Kibaki-era officers. Before these changes, President Kenyatta appointed Maj Gen Phillip Kameru to replace Maj Gen Michael Gichangi as the head of the National Intelligence Services, while Joseph Boinett replaced former Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo, after the under-performing former Interior CS Joseph ole Lenku resigned to make way for Joseph Nakiserry’s nomination and eventual appointment.

With these replacements, the President has signaled the Jubilee administration’s intention to secure Kenyans’ safety, coming on the heels of the attack of Garissa University College by the Al-Shabaab terror group, an attack that left 148 people dead, 142 of them students.

With these nominations and reappointments, attention can now shift to governance and away from the ongoing corruption investigations in which six members of Uhuru’s cabinet—including Mr Kimemia— have stepped aside to allow for investigations into allegations of financial malfeasance.

The country is faced with major problems with insecurity, joblessness and declining tourism revenues bearing a direct adverse impact on an economy that has been on the upswing. This wave of insecurity has put paid to efforts to grow the number of visitors, many who stay away because they feel their safety cannot be guaranteed. Thousands of jobs have ultimately been lost at the epicenter of tourism at the Coast as hotels close down when bed occupancy drops to unsustainable levels.

In recent weeks, the President’s approval ratings declined — independent pollster, Ipsos Kenya, observes that the recent terror attack led to a 10 per cent drop in approval ratings compared to the 76 per cent approval before the attack.
These issues must preoccupy the President even as he grapples with the political fallout bound to emerge as a result of his decidedly bold purge on graft.

The President needs all hands on deck to deal with insecurity and the appointment of former military officers to the Ministry of Interior signals the direction the government wants to take to contain the growing terror threat and wave of recruitment of youths by jihadists group like the Al-Shabaab. As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces and Head of State, the ultimate responsibility to ensure all Kenyans are safe falls on the President.

But beyond the issue of security is a more unsettling prospect for the Jubilee administration—50 per cent of Kenyans feel the country is going in the wrong direction due to rising corruption according to pollster Ipsos Kenya. It is hoped that the new team in the Uhuru administration will help address these concerns.

We state again that ultimately, the buck stops with the President and it is up to him to ensure there are concrete mitigation efforts to address corruption, insecurity and joblessness. Members of his Cabinet must help him tackle these issues.