President William Ruto is facing mounting calls to dissolve his administration following a Friday, May 9 ruling by the Court of Appeal that reignited the legal battle surrounding Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s ouster.
The three-judge appellate bench ruled that Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu had overstepped her mandate by handpicking High Court judges who rejected Gachagua’s conservatory orders without due process. The ruling ordered Chief Justice Martha Koome to constitute a fresh bench within 14 days to fairly hear the petitions challenging Gachagua’s removal.
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This ruling has sparked renewed energy in Gachagua’s political camp and fresh criticism of Ruto’s leadership. Critics, led by former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, are now pushing for the dissolution of the current government, labeling it as illegitimate and ineffective.
Malala, a staunch Gachagua ally, dismissed Ruto’s current administration as a hollow shell, lacking ideological direction and leadership integrity.
“Inevitably, the current administration has irretrievably lost legitimacy. What we now have is not a government but a hollow shell—oblong in shape, directionless in ideology, and incoherent in structure,” said Malala.
He also criticized members of the Cabinet for allegedly opposing Ruto’s 2022 campaign agenda and later pretending to implement it without conviction. According to Malala, the current government setup is incapable of executing the president’s manifesto.
Photo: Former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala with DP Rigathi Gachagua before his exit. File/Thestar.co.ke
Malala went further to say that with the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) already underway, it would be in the country’s best interest for Ruto to dissolve the government and call for fresh elections.
“Now that the IEBC reconstitution process has begun, the President must act in the Republic’s highest interest by dissolving the government and seeking a fresh mandate—this time with his newly assembled coalition of so-called broad-based partners,” he concluded.
