The High Court has certified an application as urgent, seeking to suspend Cabinet operations and stop the payment of salaries and benefits to Cabinet Secretaries over President William Ruto’s alleged failure to comply with a court order on the two-thirds gender rule.
The application seeks to bar Cabinet Secretaries from performing their duties until the President reconstitutes the Cabinet in line with constitutional requirements on gender representation.
Supporting the application are Katiba Institute, Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW), Transparency International Kenya, CRAWN Trust and Women’s March Kenya.
According to the organisations, the President has yet to comply with a June 30 court judgment that directed him to reconstitute the Cabinet within 120 days. They argue that the deadline lapsed on October 28 without compliance.
Former presidential candidate Saitabao Ole Kanchory filed the case, which is before the Malindi High Court under petition number HCCHR PET/E015/2024. The respondents are the President, the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Attorney General.
In orders issued on November 9, Justice E. Ogola certified the October 29 application as urgent and directed that it be served on all respondents and interested parties within three days.
The respondents have until November 19 to file their responses. The matter will return before a three-judge bench virtually on December 1, at 12:30 pm for further directions.
“The matter will be mentioned for further directions before the 3 judge bench virtually on 1st December 2026 at 12.30 p.m.,” the court ordered
Orders Sought in the Application
According to Katiba Institute, the applicants are seeking six major orders from the High Court.
First, they want the court to suspend the Cabinet and bar Cabinet Secretaries from performing any official functions until the President complies with the June 30 judgment.
They are also seeking an order stopping the Secretary to the Cabinet from convening or facilitating Cabinet meetings, recording Cabinet decisions or communicating them.
The application further seeks to restrain the Controller of Budget from approving the payment of Cabinet Secretaries’ salaries and benefits or authorising expenditure on Cabinet business from October 28.
Additionally, the applicants want the court to summon the Attorney General to explain the President’s alleged failure to comply with the earlier judgment.
They are also asking the court to declare that the President’s failure to implement the judgment amounts to wilful disobedience of court orders, which constitutes contempt of court.
The final request seeks to defer any punishment or personal liability against the President until the end of his presidential term.
High Court Gives Ruto 120 Days to Reconstitute Cabinet
The latest application follows a June 30, 2026, High Court judgment that found President William Ruto’s Cabinet composition unconstitutional for failing to meet the two-thirds gender requirement.
Also Read: High Court Gives Ruto 120 Days to Reconstitute Cabinet
In a majority decision, Justices Eric Ogola and Stephen Githinji found that the composition of the Cabinet violated Articles 27(8) and 81(b) of the Constitution, which require that no more than two-thirds of members of elective or appointive bodies be of the same gender.
The judges also ruled that the Secretary to the Cabinet, an office established under Article 154 of the Constitution, could not be counted as a Cabinet member when determining compliance with the gender rule.
The court held that the Secretary to the Cabinet is not a member of the Cabinet for constitutional purposes. Consequently, the office could not be included when calculating gender representation, regional balance and inclusivity in the Cabinet.
Having found that the Cabinet did not meet the constitutional requirement, the judges directed President Ruto to reconstitute it within 120 days to ensure compliance with Article 27(8).
In its final orders, the court directed the President to appoint Cabinet Secretaries in accordance with the constitutional provision within the specified period.
“The Appointing Authority is hereby directed to make appointments of Cabinet Secretaries in conformity with Article 27(8) of the Constitution within 120 days from the date of this Judgment,” the judges ordered.
Court Rules on Ruto’s Cabinet Appointments
The court ruling followed petitions challenging President William Ruto’s decision to reappoint several Cabinet Secretaries after dissolving the Cabinet in July 2024.
The petitioners also argued that the Cabinet’s composition did not meet constitutional requirements on gender balance and inclusivity.
In determining the petitions, the High Court considered several constitutional questions concerning presidential powers, the appointment of Cabinet Secretaries and the composition of the Executive.
The judges held that the court had jurisdiction to review presidential appointments and dismissals, rejecting arguments that the dispute was purely political.
They also found that President Ruto acted within his constitutional powers when he reappointed Cabinet Secretaries following the dissolution of the Cabinet in July 2024.
However, the court ruled that the Secretary to the Cabinet could not be counted as a Cabinet member when assessing compliance with the gender requirement.
The judges also considered whether the Cabinet reflected Kenya’s diversity and whether the National Assembly had met constitutional requirements on public participation during the approval process.
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