Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday re-appointed several members of the cabinet he sacked last week to a new government that he said would respond to the grievances of young protesters.
In a televised address, Ruto announced 11 appointments to what he had promised would be a broad-based unity government. He said other nominations would follow soon.
The mass firing last week was a concession to demands from youth-led protests that had already forced him to withdraw $2.7 billion in proposed tax hikes.
Ruto re-appointed Kithure Kindiki as interior minister, Aden Duale as defence minister, Alice Wahome as land minister and Soipan Tuya as environment minister. He also changed the portfolios of two other ministers.
'Betrayal of people'
Shortly before the president’s announcement, opposition coalition members on Friday distanced themselves from the proposal to form a broad-based government, calling it a “betrayal of the Kenyan people, particularly Gen Zs and millennials,” who have been leading the protests calling for change.
Opposition figure Kalonzo Musyoka called the Cabinet change “cosmetic,” saying nothing will change as long as the Ruto administration is in office.
He said that any opposition party joining the broad-based government will be doing so as an individual party and not as the opposition coalition.
The protests have resulted in more than 50 deaths since mid-June and left Ruto caught between pressure from lenders to pay down high debts and a public reeling from high living costs.
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