Members of Kenya’s new cabinet, led by newly appointed Musalia Mudavadi, were sworn in Thursday inaugurating the sharing of powers under the Kenya First coalition agreement.
The new chief of staff was the first to be sworn in in the capital Nairobi at the official residence of President William Ruto, followed by the new attorney general, Justin Muturi, and the remaining 22 members, according to the Kenyan newspaper ‘Standard Media’.
After their swearing in, the ministers assume their posts with immediate effect, marking the end of an era under the administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, except for the appointment of Simon Chelugui, former Minister of Labor who remains in the current cabinet, moving to the position of Cooperatives.
A coalition agreement between Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC) and the Forum for the Restoration of Kenya Democracy (FORD) of Moses Wetangula, current Speaker of the Kenyan National Assembly, was filed with the Registrar of Political Parties on May 8.
Under the coalition pact, FORD and ANC will jointly hold 30 percent of the positions in the Executive, including cabinet secretaries, as well as diplomats or chairmen and directors of state corporations.
The Kenyan Supreme Court endorsed Ruto’s victory on September 5 after he won 50.5 percent of the vote. His rival, Raila Odinga, who was supported by Kenyatta, obtained 48.85 percent of the ballots, although he immediately rejected the results and denounced fraud.
