Deputy President William Ruto addressing the people of Kibra on September 25, 2019.
Deputy President William Ruto addressing the people of Kibra on September 25, 2019.
Image: DPPS
 

By Correspondent

Twenty-three MPs have accused Deputy President William Ruto of undermining President Uhuru Kenyatta and demanded his resignation.

They said the DP has been attacking government officials and working round the clock to scuttle Uhuru’s handshake deal with ODM leader Raila Odinga and undermine the yet-to-be-released Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report.

The lawmakers, drawn from Jubilee, ODM, Ford Kenya, Wiper and Kanu — some of whom have been DP’s close allies — accused him of ‘fighting’ the government from within and dared him to quit.

“If you are dissatisfied with the leadership of President Uhuru Kenyatta, I dare you to resign,” Tiaty MP William Kamket said.

The MPs were reacting to attacks on Interior CS Fred Matiang’i, his PS Karanja Kibicho and Police IG Hillary Mutyiambai by Tangatanga MPs on Tuesday.

The Tangatanga legislators had claimed that the three officers planned the fracas witnessed in parts of Kibra during last week’s by-election. The DP has also personally attacked Raila and his ODM team, accusing them of sponsoring ‘chaos’ to not only win the election but also undermine the handshake.

“Tinga (Raila) and his party’s trail of political conmanship and deceit from Kanu through Cord to Nasa, and now heading to Jubilee and litany of violence from ’82 coup to Kibra cannot be hidden behind the BBI. As a minimum, he must publicly renounce violence as a political tool and undertake to accept defeat,” he said on Twitter on Wednesday.

But the Jubilee, ODM, Ford Kenya, Wiper and Kanu MPs said the DP’s attack on government officials amounts to undermining the President — the appointing authority.

“Stop blaming civil servants. Stop blaming the CS, PS and the Inspector General. Let him come out boldly and say it is the President he is blaming,” Kamket said.

Those present during the press conference at Parliament Buildings included Jimmy Angwenyi (Kitut Chache North), Gathoni Wamuchomba (Kiambu woman rep), Ben Momanyi (Borabu), Fatuma Gedi (Wajir woman rep), Peter Mwathi (Limuru), Mishi Mboko (Likoni) and Raphael Wanjala (Budalang’i).

Others were Ken Chonga (Kilifi South), Jerusha Momanyi (Nyamira woman rep), Abdikarim Osman (Fafi) and Samuel Arama (Nakuru Town).

Momanyi, who has been leaning towards the DP, turned against him, saying they will support the BBI to amend the Constitution to give the President the powers to sack a ‘crook’ deputy.

“Uhuru should be given a chance to sack a deputy. We need to change the law so when the President gets a crook as a deputy, he can sack him. You cannot purport to be a deputy and you are undermining the presidency,” Momanyi said.

Angwenyi, who is the National Assembly Deputy Majority leader, also faulted Tangatanga for referring to the Kisii community as a village and attacking CS Matiang’i.

“We are a community of more than four million people. Those referring to us as a village are actually destroying for him. They are not helping him,” he said.

Mboko said the DP and his Tangatanga team were using the Kibra poll as an excuse to oppose the BBI and the handshake.

“If it is true they were attacked and injured as they claim, why can’t they record a statement with the police? These are excuses and we know them,” she said.

Wanjala said, “Kenyans are aware of a deliberate attempt by the Tangatanga group to besmirch the characters of CS Matiang’i, PS Kibicho, the IG and other senior government officials for political gain.”