Just a few days after President Ruto nominated some opposition figures into his cabinet, the move has faced a major setback after a petitioner moved to court to stop the ODM nominees from being appointed.
In the latest development, Julius Ogogoh the Executive Director of the Commission for Human Rights has filed a petition in court seeking to stop the appointment of key allies of Raila Odinga into the Cabinet.
The petition targets John Mbadi, Hassan Joho, Opiyo Wandayi, and Wycliffe Oparanya from the ODM party after they were nominated into different cabinet secretaries positions in President Ruto’s government.
Ogogoh argues that the opposition holds a constitutional and parliamentary duty to provide checks and balances, particularly to oversee the actions of the government.
“Should any member of the parties forming the Azimio coalition be nominated and successfully appointed into the Cabinet, the opposition in the National Assembly stands to be conflicted,” Ogogoh stated in his petition.
Represented by advocate Nicholas Kamwendwa, the Commission for Human Rights contends that the appointments would impair the opposition’s ability to discharge its oversight role effectively.
According to Ogogoh, the nominations and subsequent appointments of these individuals would lead to a conflict of interest, undermining the constitutional duty of the opposition to monitor the government’s operations.
The petition calls for the court to suspend the nomination of the four candidates and issue an order restraining them from accepting their appointments as Cabinet Secretaries.
Additionally, it seeks to prevent the Speaker of the National Assembly from receiving and transmitting their names to Parliament for vetting and consideration.
“If successful, there shall be no presence of opposition in the National Assembly. There shall be no checks and balances and the executive and other arms of the government shall not be accountable to the people who delegated trust and obligation to serve,” Ogogoh asserted.
Ogogoh also highlighted the potential economic implications of these appointments, noting that they would necessitate by-elections in the respective regions, which he described as insensitive given the current economic climate.
He warned that the absence of a robust opposition would lead to wastage, non-accountability, and a lack of transparency within the government.
By Star