Busia Senator Ruto said he will be forced to form a shadow cabinet to put President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition government in check.
The Senator outlined the plans after Ruto named four Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) members from the opposition in his broad based government.
“If that cabinet is established, some of us will be constrained to set up a shadow cabinet because we shall no longer be having a presidential system where you have majority and minority sides checking the Executive,” he said.
“We shall have a de facto Parliamentary system where power emanates from the House and therefore some of us must and will be constrained to set up a shadow cabinet that can effectively check the excesses of the government.”
The President on Wednesday made public his final list of cabinet nominees.
Ruto, however, did not name the Attorney General and East African Community and ASAL nominees.
Among those nominated are four members of the Orange Democratic Movement including former Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho in the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy; Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives and MSME Development); John Mbadi (National Treasury) and Opiyo Wandayi to head the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum.
“I’m saddened especially by the inclusion of Members of Parliament from the opposition party and leaders in that Cabinet list,”Omtatah said on Wednesday.
“That for me says that the President has decided that he will govern this country without the constitution that he swore to protect, defend and promote,” he added.
The senator said the move to nominate MPs from the opposition party is insensitive to the economic times the country is in.
On Friday, a petition was filed seeking to stop the appointment of Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s key allies nominated to the cabinet.