Senator Okiya Omatatah promises to form a shadow Cabinet

The four including ODM Chair and Nominated MP John Mbadi (Treasury), Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi (Energy), former Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho (Mining and Blue Economy) and former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives and MSMEs Development), were nominated as part of President Ruto’s broad-based government approach. 

Omtatah warned of dire consequences should Parliament approve the four members into Ruto’s government, citing that the opposition would be ineffective in its mandate to hold the government to account. 

Thus, he promised to form a shadow cabinet that would perform the opposition’s work by effectively scrutinising the government’s policies and actions. 

“If that cabinet is established, some of us will be constrained to set up a shadow cabinet because we shall no longer have a presidential system where you have majority and minority sides checking the executive, we shall have a defacto parliamentary system where power emanates from the House," said Omtatah.

"Therefore some of us must set up a shadow cabinet that can effectively check the excesses of this government, this mockery that has been vested upon us whose character and purpose we don’t know."

The senator also pointed out that the ruling government was not addressing the concerns raised by Gen Zs and instead adding fuel to the fire by rewarding the opposition with government positions. 

“This is a self-serving government that does not address the concerns the Gen Z has been raising or has been driving them to the streets.”

This past Wednesday, Omtatah had criticised President Ruto’s move to nominate the four to his cabinet as unlawful as it does not serve Kenyans’ well-being and benefit. 

He explained that the president violated the procedures governing the country’s multiparty democratic system by enticing opposition members to join the government. 

"Under this principle of Kenya being a multiparty democracy, it is not possible for an individual MP or political party to just cross the floor after an election. The provision also does not give the President the power to set up a broad-based government,” remarked the senator.

Parliament will begin vetting the CS nominees from Thursday, August 1 to Sunday, August 4, 2024.