Busia County Senator Okiya Omtatah has said that he is going to form a shadow cabinet that will keep the President William Ruto-led government in check.
Omtatah in a video quoted on his official X account on Saturday, July 27, 2024, says his shadow cabinet will assume the watchdog role once President Ruto’s Cabinet that he recently named is approved and established.
Omtatah on presidential system
According to Omtatah, Kenya will no longer have a presidential system that has the minority and majority sides in the parliament to check on the executive.
“If that Cabinet is established, some of us will be constrained to set up a shadow Cabinet because what will be happening now we shall no longer be having a presidential system where we have the minority and majority sides checking on the executive,” Omtatah said.
Omtatah on parliamentary system
Omtatah went ahead and argued that the parliamentary system would not be able to check on the government because power would emanate from the State House.
He further claims that the Ruto administration is a self-serving government that does not address the concerns that Gen Zs have been raising through their anti-government protests.
“We shall have a defacto parliamentary system where power emanates from the house and, therefore, some of us must be constrained and will be constrained to set up a shadow Cabinet that can then effectively check the excesses of this government. Am left with no option but to say that this is a self serving government that does not address at all the concerns that Gen Zs have been raising,” Omtatah added.
There shall be no vacuum in the opposition, I am going to form a shadow cabinet that is going to keep this government in check.
— Okiya Omtatah Okoiti (@OkiyaOmtatah) July 27, 2024
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Omtatah’s remarks come days after President Ruto appointed four leaders from the opposition, to his Cabinet.
Ruto’s Cabinet
The Head of State on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, gave Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party key leaders Cabinet positions while announcing the second batch of the Cabinet.
President Ruto nominated ODM chairman John Mbadi to the Ministry of National Treasury and Economic Planning.
The National Assembly Minority Leader and the ODM Secretary of Political Affairs James Opiyo Wandayi landed the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum.
ODM Deputy Party Leader and former Mombasa County Governor Hassan Joho was nominated to the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs.
Former Kakamega County Governor who is also the ODM Deputy Party Leader Wycliffe Oparanya was nominated to the Ministry of Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development.
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