Katiba Institute Litigation Counsel Sumayyah Mokku has questioned the constitutional and financial implications of appointing sitting Members of Parliament to Cabinet positions, saying the practice can force taxpayers to fund by-elections while raising questions about prudent use of public resources.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Monday, Mokku said the appointment of MPs as Cabinet Secretaries had revived questions about whether the country was recreating aspects of the previous constitutional order, when MPs could also serve in the Executive.
“What does it mean exactly when you get sitting MPs to resign so that they can be CSs exactly?” she asked.
Under the 2010 Constitution, Cabinet Secretaries cannot be MPs. Article 152 requires a Cabinet Secretary to resign from Parliament before taking up the position.
Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes Geoffrey Ruku became the latest Member of Parliament to resign to take up a Cabinet position after his appointment by President William Ruto in 2025.
His departure triggered a parliamentary by-election in Mbeere North, which was held on November 27,2025.
Mokku questioned whether such elections represented prudent use of public funds when the Executive could select Cabinet Secretaries from outside Parliament.
“Are you telling me in the whole of Kenya you could not find someone else who could sit on that, or rather, in the whole of Kenya, you could not find someone who could be a cabinet secretary for whatever position he had taken up?” she asked.
Ruku's case followed a similar pattern in 2022, when President Ruto appointed MPs including Aden Duale and Alice Wahome, as well as former Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, to his Cabinet. Their departures created vacancies that required by-elections.
Mokku also criticised successive administrations and Parliament over the failure to implement the Constitution's two-thirds gender principle.
She said parliamentary vetting should involve checking whether presidential nominees comply with constitutional requirements rather than simply approving the Executive's choices.
“If you're not checking provisions of the constitution, whether it's been followed or not, and you're just approving, sort of like rubber stamping, are you really doing your job?” she said.
Mokku said the failure to enforce constitutional safeguards reflected a broader weakness in Parliament's ability to check the Executive.
“Parliament is really the weakling,” she said, arguing that stronger parliamentary institutions would provide a more effective check on presidential appointments.
She linked the concerns to Chapter Six of the Constitution on leadership and integrity and Article 232 on the values and principles of public service.
“The coffers are only empty when they are serving the public. When it's self-service, it's not empty. It's full and it's available for use,” Mokku said.