President Ruto on Monday, March 20 reiterated his support for the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule.
Speaking during the swearing-in of the new Solicitor General, Shadrack Mose, at State House, Nairobi, the head of state was categorical about his resolve to realise the elusive gender parity.
“We have also committed ourselves on the matter of the two-thirds gender bill that currently is in discussion in the House," stated the President.
He reminded the Solicitor General of his role in actualising the promise.
“I will depend on you to support the push to once and for all to settle this subject of gender in our equation as a society,” he noted.
The two-thirds gender rule is enshrined in Article 27(8) of the Constitution. This article is read together with Article 81(b) and Article 100 of the Constitution.
One of Ruto’s campaign promises was the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule.
However, in the government appointments made so far, his administration fell short of meeting the gender requirement.
Seven out of the 25 Cabinet Secretaries are women, representing only 28 per cent of appointments against a constitutional threshold of two-thirds, which is 66.7 per cent.
In terms of Principal Secretaries, the line-up has 23.5 per cent women, equivalent to 12 out of the 51 office holders.
On March 16, President Ruto announced the nominees for the Chief Administrative Secretaries with 13 out of 50 nominees being women, comprising only 26 per cent.
According to the 2010 Constitution, the rule aims at shoring up the number of women in public offices.
“The State shall take legislative and other measures to implement the principle that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender,” Article 27(8) states.
However, meeting this constitutional threshold was a tall order during President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration.
Chief Justice David Maraga in September 2020, advised President Kenyatta to dissolve Parliament for failure to enact the two-thirds gender rule.
"The petitions are based on the ground that despite four court orders compelling Parliament to enact the legislation...Parliament has blatantly failed, refused or neglected to do so," CJ Maraga noted.
At the time, Parliament had failed to enact the rule despite four court orders.
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