Nairobi — Parliament will appeal a High Court ruling declaring President William Ruto's Cabinet unconstitutional for failing to comply with the constitutional two-thirds gender rule.

Through the Office of the Speaker, the National Assembly has notified the Court of Appeal (CoA) of its intention to challenge the judgment, which found that the current Cabinet composition violates Article 27(8) of the Constitution because more than two-thirds of its members are of the same gender.

Parliament is also seeking to suspend the High Court's directive requiring the appointing authority to reconstitute the Cabinet within 120 days to comply with the constitutional gender requirement.

Last week, a three-judge bench comprising Justices E.K. Ogola, Stephen Githinji and Jairus Ngaah ruled that the composition of President Ruto's Cabinet was unconstitutional after finding that it failed to meet the two-thirds gender principle.

The judges gave the President 120 days to reconstitute the Cabinet to comply with the Constitution.

The current Cabinet comprises 18 men and seven women, falling short of the constitutional threshold. To meet the requirement, the Cabinet would need at least nine women, meaning two additional women would have to be appointed if the size of the Cabinet remains unchanged.

Parliament now wants the CoA to overturn the High Court's decision and suspend its implementation pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.