Aasai

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has come to the defence of President William Ruto over the expanding list of presidential advisors, saying there is no legal limit to how many advisors a president can appoint. Speaking during a TV interview on Tuesday night, May 6, Mbadi clarified that the Constitution only limits the number of Cabinet Secretaries but leaves presidential advisors unrestricted.

Mbadi explained that the president is well within his rights to hire as many advisors as he deems necessary. “The law allows the president to hire advisors; there is no ceiling to the number. The constitution only restricts cabinet appointments, not advisory roles,” he said. 

Responding to recent government directives to slash advisory roles by 50 per cent, Mbadi noted the presidency is exempt from that directive. “That circular didn’t affect the presidency because the Treasury CS cannot issue such orders to the president,” he stated, amid public concern over government spending on advisors.

The number of President Ruto’s advisors has grown from seven to 17 in under a year, with recent appointments including Prof. Makau Mutua and Jaoko Oburu. Other notable advisors include economist David Ndii, Moses Kuria, and Prof. Abdi Guliye—highlighting the president’s increasing reliance on a broad pool of expertise.