How CS nominees’ interviews revealed gender inequalities

Interviews for the 24 nominees selected by President William Ruto to form his cabinet brought home the realities of gender inequalities in Kenya.

As per Article 152(1) of the Constitution, a Cabinet in Kenya  consists of President, Deputy President, Attorney-General (AG) and  not fewer than 14 and not more than 22 Cabinet Secretaries(CSs).

President Ruto nominated 21 CSs to respective portfolios and created the position of Prime Cabinet Secretary, who will now be sitting in the Cabinet, if approved by National Assembly Committee on Appointment, and the report adopted by the whole house. The Secretary to the Cabinet also sits in the Cabinet by virtue of the position the office holds.

Mr Ruto had made a commitment during the campaigns that his cabinet would have a 50 per cent representation of women.

Prime CS

Going by his nominations and the Constitutional definition of a cabinet, he fell short by five, considering that in totality, his cabinet constitutes of 25 members.

Yet, he nominated only seven to the CS positions and neither did not consider a woman for the Prime CS or AG position.

He, however, nominated Mercy Wanjau to the position of a Secretary to the Cabinet alongside other two women to advisory positions namely 
Monica Juma (National Security Advisor) and Harriet Chiggai (Women rights agency advisor).

None of the women who appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Appointment was among the 10 wealthiest nominees.

Only Mercy Wanjau nominated to the position of the Secretary to the Cabinet was in the middle-quartile with a net worth of Sh475 million against the Sh4 billion for the wealthiest Prime Cabinet Secretary nominee, Musalia Mudavadi.

The rest are concentrated in lower-quartile with Rebecca Miano, a nominee to the East African Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development docket leading with Sh397 million.

Penina Malonza

Compared to the second wealthiest nominee, Mithika Linturi (Agriculture and Livestock Development) who is worth Sh1.2 billion, Ms Miano would work three times harder to reach his level.

Peninah Malonza (Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage) comes second with Sh300 million against Sh993 million for Simon Chelugui (Co-operative and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development) who is third on the top list of the richest nominees in President Ruto’s cabinet.

Alice Wahome (Water, Sanitation and Irrigation) follows in third place with a net worth of Sh218 million.  Considering the parallel rank, they share similar position with Njuguna Ndung’u, Cabinet Secretary nominee for National Treasury and Planning. But with Sh950 million to his name, he is almost five times richer than Ms Wahome.

Next is Florence Bore (Labour and Social Protection). She is worth Sh200 million. Her colleague on the other side, Aden Duale (Defence) has amassed wealth amounting to Sh851 million.

Drop in the ocean

Soipan Tuya (Environment and Forestry) comes close to completing the list with Sh156 million, just a drop in the ocean compared to her equivalent nominee in the upper quartile,  Moses Kuria (Trade, Investment, and Industry) who is worth Sh750 million.

Susan Wafula nominated to head the Ministry of Health has a net worth of Sh101 million against Sh700 million for Justin Muturi (Attorney General) in the club of the richest nominees.

Closing the list is Aisha Jumwa (Public Service, Gender and Affirmative Action) with Sh100 million. Essentially, her relative colleague Eliud Owalo (Information, Communication and Technology) who is worth Sh 655 million is six times richer than her.

A 2020 Oxfam International report indicated that 22 richest men in the world have more wealth than all the women in Africa, a clear line showing a huge gap in ownership of resources among men and women in the world.

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