Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has defended a move by President William Ruto to name politicians to his Cabinet, saying technocrats had failed the previous administration.

Ruto on Tuesday, September 27, named a number of Kenya Kwanza Alliance politicians to his 22-member Cabinet, in what many consider a departure from the Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta governments that had technocrats.

In an interview on Sunday night, Gachagua said the President was justified to nominate politicians to his Cabinet. He alleged that technocrats in Uhuru’s administration had failed the country.

According to Gachagua the technocrats failed to understand issues affecting Kenyans and couldn’t help the immediate former president implement his development agenda.

“Maneno ya wataalamu ndio iliangusha hiyo serikali [ya Uhuru] kwa sababau hawajui ni nini inaendelea. Hawana nafasi ya kuenda kusikiza ni nini inaendelea na shida za wananchi ni nini,” Gachagua said.

Loosely translated, “Technoracts failed the government because they were clueless about issues affecting Kenyans. They could not get to the grassroots and understand the problems Kenyans are facing.”

While criticizing the Uhuru administration for demolitions witnessed in various parts of the country and the high cost of living, Gachagua said no politician would ignore the cries of the people to demolish the houses.

Technocrats full of themselves

He said the technocrats were full of themselves and couldn’t take criticism.

The country’s second in command said the proposed Ruto cabinet has both the technical and political know-how to meet the needs of the Kenyan people.

Gachagua also dismissed concerns from a section of the political class regarding nominees with pending criminal cases, saying the suspects were victims of ‘state harassment and intimidation’.

Some of the politicians nominated to plum positions in the Executive include Garissa Township MP Aden Duale who was nominated as Defence Cabinet Secretary and Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen who is poised to take over as  Transport, Housing and Urban Development CS.

If approved by Parliament, Duale and Murkomen will succeed Eugene Wamalwa and James Macharia respectively.

Other allies of Ruto, who benefitted from the recent nominations, are former Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa (Public Service and Gender), Kandara MP Alice Wahome (Water) and former Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, among others.

The current MPs are required to resign before taking over the new roles.