President William Ruto has remained non-committal on whether he will reorganise his Cabinet to comply with a High Court ruling that requires his administration to meet the two-thirds gender rule within 120 days.
In his first public response to the judgment, Ruto appeared to sidestep a question from Eric Latiff of NTV on whether he would make changes to his Cabinet in line with the court ruling and the Constitution.
Speaking during the Katiba Day celebrations at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on Thursday, August 27, the President drew parallels with an earlier court decision concerning the composition of Parliament.
“Just the same way the court has ruled that Parliament is not constitutional. That may not be achieved today, as it is a work in progress. Progressively, that is work in progress,” Ruto stated.
His remarks appeared to reference a previous ruling that ordered the dissolution of Parliament during the administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta. He suggested that implementing such judicial decisions could take time and be handled progressively.
In July, a three-judge bench of the High Court dealt Ruto a major legal setback after declaring his Cabinet unconstitutional for failing to comply with the two-thirds gender principle.
The judges determined that the composition of the Cabinet violated Article 27(8) of the Constitution, which requires that no more than two-thirds of members of appointive public bodies belong to the same gender.
The court gave Ruto four months, or 120 days, to reconstitute his Cabinet and bring it into compliance with the Constitution. With the deadline approaching, the President has 42 days remaining to act on the order.
The landmark case was filed by Katiba Institute, alongside the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW), Transparency International Kenya, the Community Advocacy and Awareness Trust (CRAWN Trust) and the World March of Women-Kenya.
The organisations challenged the legality of the Cabinet formed after the 2024 dismissal of ministers and subsequent appointments.
Justices Eric Ogola, Jairus Ngaah and Stephen Githinji found that the Executive had failed to meet the constitutional threshold on gender representation despite several Cabinet appointments and reshuffles.
“The Cabinet, as constituted, fails the test of legality under Articles 152(1), 152(2) and Article 27(8)and is, therefore, invalid,” Justice Jairus Ngaah stated in the ruling.
A decision by Ruto to comply with the order could trigger political changes within the Executive, with some Cabinet Secretaries potentially losing their positions as the country heads towards the 2027 General Election.
The reshuffle could also create tensions within the Kenya Kwanza coalition and its broad-based government arrangement with ODM.
Political manoeuvring over possible Cabinet changes began shortly after the ruling, with ODM signalling its interest in additional Cabinet positions.
ODM Acting Secretary General Catherine Omanyo stated in July that the party had several qualified women who could take up Cabinet Secretary positions if Ruto opted to reshuffle his team.
