Kenyan president dismisses cabinet

Kenyan President William Ruto dismissed his cabinet on Thursday following three weeks of anti-government protests over tax hikes.

The president said he would engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations to establish a broad-based government.

Ruto justified the move as essential to addressing the burden of debt, raising domestic resources, expanding job opportunities and eliminating wastage and unnecessary duplication within government agencies.

He emphasized that the decision was made after "reflection, listening to Kenyans, and a holistic appraisal of my cabinet".

The move by Ruto to fire the attorney general and entire cabinet secretaries, except the prime cabinet secretary, has received mixed reactions from the public.

While some people praised the dismissal, terming it as a bold move and a step toward the right direction, others felt that there was a lot that he had to do, including cleaning the mess left by the cabinet as well as winning the confidence of young people who led the protests.

Macharia Munene, a professor of history and international relations at the United States International University in Nairobi, said dismissing the entire cabinet was the right thing for the president to do because it would help ease up anti-government protests, adding that the act was long overdue.

He said while some cabinet secretaries were competent, the whole picture was not good as some of them were incompetent and could not deliver on public expectations. He hopes that with their dismissal, efficiency may be witnessed in the ministries.

However, Munene said the president is yet to win the confidence of young people until the new appointments are done and he cleans up the mess.

XN Iraki, an associate professor at the University of Nairobi's Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, said the dismissal would excite the public, particularly Generation Z.

"The public feels the president is taking action. But soon they will ask, if their lives have changed," he said.

Iraki said the move would solve the problems that the president is currently facing because the cabinet is part of a bigger system that remains intact.

He said public confidence in Ruto's leadership will only be restored when citizens start feeling improvement in their lives, adding that Kenyans are eager to see the new cabinet.

In order to be fully restored in the country and put Kenya into a growth trajectory, Iraki said Ruto will have to fight corruption.

Murithi Mutiga, Africa program director at the International Crisis Group think tank, lauded the dismissal of the cabinet.

"This is a political earthquake. It's quite unprecedented, we haven't seen a decision so dramatic in Kenya for at least two decades. It's very encouraging," he wrote in his X account.

Kivutha Kibwana, former governor of Makueni County, expressed optimism that the dismissal was the right step toward liberating the country economically.

"New Kenya, nothing less! A land where the citizens and the constitution are sovereign under God," he wrote in his X account.

Xinhua contributed to this story.