President William Ruto’s Cabinet faces a legal challenge over compliance with the constitutional gender rule.
Five organisations seek to halt Cabinet functions, citing President William Ruto’s alleged failure to comply with a court order on gender representation.
The High Court has certified a Cabinet suspension case as urgent, setting a hearing for December 1, 2026. Five organisations argue that President William Ruto failed to obey an order requiring him to reconstitute his Cabinet.
Katiba Institute, the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW), Transparency International Kenya, CRAWN Trust and the Women’s Movement of Kenya filed the application. A three-judge bench will hear the matter.
The organisations say the June 30, 2026 directive gave the President 120 days to act. However, they argue that the deadline expired on October 28 without compliance.
Cabinet suspension case seeks restrictions on functions and pay
The applicants want the court to suspend the Cabinet and Cabinet Secretaries from carrying out official duties. They also seek restrictions on the Secretary to the Cabinet’s role in supporting Cabinet business.
Specifically, they want to stop the Secretary from convening meetings, recording decisions or communicating Cabinet resolutions. Their application further targets the approval of public funds for Cabinet activities.
The organisations want the Controller of Budget barred from approving Cabinet Secretaries’ salaries and benefits from October 28. They also seek to halt authorisation of expenditure on Cabinet business from that date.
In addition, the applicants want the court to summon the Attorney-General to explain the alleged disobedience. They seek a declaration that the President’s failure to implement the judgment amounts to wilful contempt of court.
Gender rule applies to the whole Cabinet
In its June 30 judgment, the High Court assessed a Cabinet comprising 18 men and seven women. The total membership stood at 25.
Article 27(8) of the Constitution requires that neither gender account for more than two-thirds of an appointive public body. For the Cabinet, that calculation extends beyond Cabinet Secretaries alone.
It also includes the President, Deputy President, Attorney-General and other constitutionally recognised Cabinet members. The number of Cabinet Secretaries therefore does not, on its own, determine compliance.
Separately, Article 152(1)(d) allows the President to appoint between 14 and 22 Cabinet Secretaries. As of November 10, 2026, Ruto’s administration had 22.
That number includes Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who also holds the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs portfolio.
