President William Ruto will wait more than a month for his Cabinet Secretaries to assume office.
This is after Members of Parliament, in 2020, amended the law to change the number of days required to vet Cabinet Secretaries.
The new nominees will be evaluated for 28 days, two more weeks than the 14 days stipulated before.
Ruto is expected to address a joint sitting of both Houses on Thursday, September 29, after which committees will be formed to handle different tasks in Parliament.
From committees tasked with formulating and reviewing health, business, and law issues among others.
The Committee on Appointments will also be formed to vet the nominated Cabinet Secretaries and other government nominees.
The 2010 Constitution in Chapter 9, Section 152 dictates that the Cabinet consists of not fewer than 14 and not more than 22 Cabinet Secretaries.
It also bars a CS from being a Member of Parliament. Thus Elgeyo Marakwet senator, Kipchumba Murkomen, MPs Aden Duale (Garissa Township) and Alice Wahome (Kandara) will have to resign to join Cabinet.
Ruto's nominees, however, expect a tough session in Parliament after Azimio La Umoja politicians vowed to bar those with integrity issues and pending cases from assuming office.
Ugunja MP, Opiyo Wandayi, claimed that the Cabinet will comprise a mafia while his compatriot, Edwin Sifuna (Nairobi Senator) argued that the list fronted by Ruto was seemingly a criminal cases update from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution.
“Kenyans should prepare themselves for challenging times ahead. The country will be witnessing the formal inauguration of a mafia state being controlled by a mafia executive if the nominees are appointed,” Wandayi cautioned.
"We will look at integrity and competence. If our colleagues in the National Assembly stay true to their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, more than half of those criminals proposed should not make it to the Cabinet," Sifuna added.
