President William Ruto on Thursday dismissed his cabinet and the attorney general, save for the deputy president and the Prime Cabinet Secretary (PCS). In a televised press release, the president directed that in the absence of these cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries would coordinate the ministries until the next cabinet is constituted.

According to the president:

I will immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government that will assist me in accelerating and expediting the necessary, urgent, and irreversible implementation of radical programs to deal with the burden of debt, raising domestic resources, expanding job opportunities, eliminate wastage and unnecessary duplication of a multiplicity of government agencies and slay the dragon of corruption consequently making the government lean, inexpensive, effective and efficient.

The dismissal of corrupt cabinet secretaries has been a priority of Kenya’s Gen Z generation in their quest for a better government. Other demands include recalling corrupt MPs and eliminating unconstitutional offices such as the Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) and the Prime Cabinet Secretary (PCS), which was spared today. Gen Z also demands that these officials face corruption charges and be held accountable for the deaths and abductions of protestors and other individuals who were hurt during the Gen Z protests. They have also called for the president’s resignation.

The 2010 Constitution specifies the procedure for selecting Cabinet Secretaries in Article 152 and provides guidelines for appointing the Attorney General in Article 156(2). The president nominates candidates for these positions, which are subsequently reviewed and approved by the National Assembly. Once approved, the president will formally appoint the nominees as cabinet secretaries and attorney general.