Maraga demands Cabinet changes as gender-rule dispute returns to political spotlight

Former chief justice David Maraga demanded on Friday that President William Ruto reconstitute his Cabinet to meet the constitutional gender rule, turning a missed court deadline into a fresh political challenge to the administration.

In his October 30 statement, reproduced in reporting by People Daily and Y News, Maraga said the President should appoint more women and stop contesting the requirement. He called for Ruto to resign if he was unwilling to comply. That is Maraga’s political demand, not an order removing the President or dissolving the Cabinet.

The dispute concerns a June 30 High Court judgment requiring corrective appointments within 120 days. Nation’s account of the case says the court found 18 men and seven women in the 25-member Cabinet and that the compliance deadline expired on October 28.

Attorney-General Dorcas Oduor has sought a stay pending an intended appeal. According to Nation’s detailed report, the application was not certified urgent and the court issued directions concerning service and submissions. The request for a stay remained pending. Those procedural directions should not be described as a final dismissal of the appeal.

The government’s argument is that implementing the judgment before appellate consideration could trigger nominations, parliamentary vetting and administrative changes that would be difficult to reverse. Maraga argues that an application does not by itself suspend an existing court order.

His statement also raises the possibility of further legal proceedings over non-compliance. Claims about contempt or the validity of subsequent Cabinet decisions must remain attributed to him; the material reviewed does not establish that a court has already made those additional findings.

The fresh development is the former chief justice’s intervention on Friday. The underlying judgment and its expired deadline are the background. The next substantive developments would be corrective appointments or an explicit appellate order resolving the request for interim relief.