'Ruto listens,' CS Mbadi says amid rumours of dictatorial gov't

The CS expressed confidence in President Ruto's ability to steer the country forward, noting that they have been engaging in numerous consultations on how to operate his ministry. 

He reaffirmed that the president must have his print in every arm of government; opining that he must be aware of everything that is happening across the country. 

"Understanding what is happening in your government is not running it alone. He is the one who was voted for by the people of Kenya, he must understand what is happening otherwise he will be accused of negligence," Mbadi told Spice FM.

"How would you take it when the president wakes up one day, something happens and he says he doesn't know? What is important is whether he listens and he does listen," he added. 

Mbadi, one of the four ODM members who were brought into Cabinet under the broad-based government, noted that the president supports their ideologies to achieve the bottom-up agenda. 

"You know my character, if he doesn't listen, I would have said so but the three months I've worked with Ruto, he has demonstrated to me that he values what I say and listens to others," Mbadi noted. 

"What they want to hear is that Mbadi is been inhibited. It is the notion and I can say that since I took over the assignment, I have got the kind of cooperation that one needs. The government is one, headed by one person, ours is to help him run his administration," he added. 

In the past months, critics have suspected the government to be in disarray with the president not providing a full briefing to his Cabinet on matters touching national issues. 

This played out during the State of the Nation Address where Ruto cancelled the Adani deals despite CS Wandayi's earlier remarks that the projects would continue. 

Further, reports of dictatorship were among the concerns raised by Gen Zs during the anti-government protests held from June to August 2024. 

During an engagement with Kenyans on X-space, Ruto dismissed those claims and insisted that he does not hold absolute power. 

"The President is not a dictator. I can not decide for the Judiciary, I can not decide for the Legislature. They make their own independent decisions. I can not decide for independent institutions," Ruto said in July 2024.