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President William Ruto’s decision to nominate Opposition leaders for positions in his Cabinet will undoubtedly water down the tools of oversight against the governing party. Young people took to the streets and stormed Parliament to demand better governance.

Some paid the ultimate price. Their major concern was that the Kenya Kwanza administration was no longer listening to instructions from the people.

Youths were speaking to Article 1 of the Constitution. That clause says all sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and shall be exercised only by the Constitution. The people may exercise their sovereign power either directly or through their democratically elected representatives, the Judiciary and independent tribunals.

The protests were against high taxes and opulence among the people’s representatives. The demos were a reminder that members of Parliament are servants, not masters, of Kenyans who sent them to Parliament. The young people were concerned about delayed access to critical documents such as IDs that allow them to access education loans and decent jobs.

Unfortunately, an impervious political elite exploited the blood of young Kenyans to cut deals and warm their way into power, especially getting Cabinet positions. The ongoing vetting process has been turned into a conspiracy to protect old friends and their bad habits.

Lobby groups and the US government have warned that the process should not be turned into laundering individuals with dubious track records into positions of authority. Politicians in Parliament don’t seem to understand that Kenyans can see how stage-managed the vetting appears to be.

The impression created is that the self-preserving political class harbours contempt for the people who elected it. It is a well-calculated and aided mischief to short-change the people by a cabal of politicians who think the rest of Kenyans are foolish.

We need to remind MPs that Kenyans hold them suspect. Kenyans have demonstrated that they have no confidence in the ability of Parliament to do the correct thing.

That is why the vetting should be a sobering opportunity for MPs to redeem themselves. It is hoped that the selection of Cabinet Secretaries should be guided by the tenets enshrined in Chapter 6 of the Constitution on integrity in public service, as well as the aspirational national values and principles of governance. 

But it seems the selection is a coached process. With a weakened Opposition, Kenyans have reason to be more vigilant in defence of their Constitution.