Court of Appeal rejects bid to suspend Ruto’s Cabinet gender rule deadline
Court of Appeal has refused to suspend a High Court ruling that gave President William Ruto 120 days to reconstitute his cabinet to comply with the two-thirds gender rule
The Court of Appeal has refused to suspend a High Court ruling that gave President William Ruto 120 days to reconstitute his cabinet to comply with the two-thirds gender rule.
In the ruling delivered on Thursday, October 29, the appellate court also directed Attorney General Dorcas Oduor to serve court papers as it continues to hear the matter.
The latest directive follows a government application seeking to suspend the orders pending the determination of its appeal, arguing that implementation should await the outcome of the petition.
However, the Court of Appeal declined to suspend the orders, leaving the directive in force after Ruto missed the 120-day deadline to reconstitute his cabinet.
On June 30, a three-judge bench comprising Justices Eric Ogola, Stephen Githinji and Jairus Ngaah ruled that Ruto’s cabinet violated the constitutional requirement that no more than two-thirds of its members should be of the same gender.
The judges directed the Head of State to make cabinet appointments that comply with Article 27(8) of the Constitution within 120 days of the judgment, setting the deadline for October 28, 2026.
The court found that the cabinet, comprising the President, Deputy President, Attorney General and Cabinet Secretaries, had only seven women against 18 men, representing 28 per cent female membership.
President Ruto offered me Education CS job; Babu Owino
US issues warning to Rwanda as it sanctions two institutions
Three people dead after a car crashes into bystander along Ngong Road
Outrage as residents halt burial, storm police station with a casket
The court determined that at least nine members of the 25-member cabinet needed to be women to meet the constitutional threshold.
It all began when a petition was filed at the High Court challenging aspects of the cabinet after Ruto decided to dissolve it in July 2024 amid nationwide anti-government protests.
Although the High Court upheld the legality of several appointments, it found that the cabinet’s gender composition fell short of the constitutional standard and ordered Ruto to reconstitute it.
The expiry of the deadline without the required changes has sparked mixed reactions among Kenyans, including legal experts, over the Executive’s continued defiance of court orders.
In July 2026, President William Ruto appeared to downplay the urgency of reconstituting his cabinet despite the court order, which granted him only 120 days to make the changes.
Speaking during the Katiba Day celebrations at the KICC in Nairobi, Ruto drew parallels with Parliament, saying compliance with constitutional requirements was a gradual process that could not necessarily be achieved immediately.
“Just the same way the court has ruled that Parliament is not constitutional. That may not be achieved today, as it is a work in progress. Progressively, that is work in progress,” the President said.
Former USIU student sentenced to death for killing colleague
TSC circular on social media conduct could violate teachers’ rights – High Court
Kenyan working for Washington State arrested by US immigration officials
Former EACC Secretary Halakhe Waqo, 8 others shortlisted for IEBC CEO position
