Kenyan President William Ruto appointed his foreign minister, Musalia Mudavadi, as the “acting cabinet secretary” for all ministries on Wednesday, following the dismissal of most of his cabinet members about a week ago. The move is seen as an attempt to thaw tensions following the deadly anti-government protests.
Facing the most serious crisis of his presidency, Ruto has embarked on a series of measures to appease rampaging protesters who were outraged by the steep tax hike proposals. Some are calling on him to resign.
“Musalia Mudavadi is assigned as the Acting Cabinet Secretary in all vacant Ministerial Portfolios,” according to a government Gazette Notice dated July 12, signed by the president and released on Wednesday.
Mudavadi, currently serving as foreign minister, emerged unscathed from the July 11 cabinet dissolution along with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
In the aftermath of the dissolution, Ruto said he would engage in extensive consultations to form a broad-based government that would help him develop radical policies to deal with the country’s huge debt burden, reduce unemployment, eliminate government waste, and tackle corruption.
On Wednesday, the main opposition coalition, Azimio, announced that it will not participate in the proposed broad-based government. Instead, the coalition supported a people-driven National Constitutional Convention as a potential solution to the current national crisis.