Kenya president retains 6 former Cabinet ministers in first batch of appointments

Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan President William Ruto has appointed the first 11 members of his Cabinet. Ruto on Friday retained six former ministers in the key portfolios of defense and interior. The president last week dismissed all but one minister and said he would form a broad-based government that would help him address issues that led to monthlong protests. The protests started as calls for legislators to vote against a finance bill that was proposing new taxes and later morphed to calls for the president’s resignation over bad governance. The president has yet to appoint a finance minister. The country’s public debt has been increasing and Ruto defended the proposed taxes as a way to repay debt and increase internal revenue collection.