The National Assembly speaker, Moses Masika Wetang’ula, has appealed a three-judge bench judgement that declared President William Ruto’s cabinet unconstitutional, citing that it did not meet the two-thirds gender rule.

On June 30, 2026, the bench comprising the presiding Judge Eric Ogola, Stephen Githinji and Jairus Ngaah declared that the current composition of the Cabinet does not comply with Article 27(8) of the Constitution because more than two-thirds of its members are of the same gender.

Through the notice of appeal on July 8, 2026, Wetang’ula avers that he, as the Speaker, and the National Assembly are not satisfied with part of the judgement and decree issued by the said bench and intend to move to the Court of Appeal and address their grievances.

“Take notice that the Speaker of the National Assembly and the National Assembly, the 2nd and 4th respondents (the ‘Appellants’), being dissatisfied with part of the judgement and decree of the High Court of Kenya (Honourable Justices E. K. Ogola (Presiding), Stephen Githinji and Jairus Ngaah) delivered at Nairobi on June 30, 2026, intend to appeal to the Court of Appeal of Kenya against part of the decision,” part of the notice of appeal reads.

In the detailed judgement, Justices Ogola, Githinji and Ngaah also directed the appointing authority to make appointments of Cabinet secretaries in conformity with Article 27(8) of the Constitution within 120 days from the date the judgement was delivered.

Further, the bench declared that Article 27(8) of the Constitution is immediate, mandatory and fully enforceable in relation to appointive bodies, including the Cabinet established under Article 152 of the Constitution.

The bench also found that the National Assembly violated the Constitution by accepting and approving nominees for Cabinet positions when it was clear that it effectively violated the rule of law and specifically Article 27 (8) of the Constitution.

Further, the judges noted that the president’s nomination for reappointment of cabinet secretaries he had dismissed on July 11, 2024, was in violation of Article 259(10) of the Constitution.

The court noted that the dismissal of the cabinet secretaries made them ineligible to be nominated for appointment as cabinet secretaries on account of Article 259(10) of the Constitution.

In addition, the judges also found that the appointment of the sitting Members of Parliament and National Party officials of an opposition party outside the express legal framework was not only contrary to sections 10 and 11 of the Political Parties Act but was also an affront to Article 4 of the Constitution on multiparty democracy.

They averred that the said appointments were contrary to national values and principles of governance under Article 10 of the Constitution and, thus, unconstitutional.