Azimio MPs want Ruto and UDA allies to resign

Legislators allied to Azimio la Umoja movement have revived calls for the resignation of Deputy President Dr William Ruto and over 100 legislators linked to UDA party and formerly members of Jubilee party. This comes days after Dr Ruto was endorsed as UDA presidential flag bearer and launched a scornful attack on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.

Led by Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni, the MPs yesterday accused Dr Ruto of being hypocritical for wearing two hats; Deputy President and now UDA presidential candidate.

The MPs spoke at Parliament Buildings echoing the message their counterparts gave at a rally in Dagoretti North at the weekend.

They castigated Dr Ruto over his continued stay in the government he unceasingly criticises, and likened him to a servant serving two masters. Mr Kioni said Dr Ruto had breached constitutional convention doctrine of collective responsibility.

Under the doctrine, he said, the Cabinet is expected to disagree privately; but to support its collective position publicly. He said that when a Cabinet member disagrees with the government publicly, the constitutional convention requires him to resign and advocate his contrarian position from outside of government. “As members of Jubilee Party, we want to tell the DP that he is out of order. This is where we draw the line. Enough is enough. And we say so because the DP is an active member of what he called a mongrel government,” said Mr Kioni.

“We demand that Dr William Ruto resigns from his position as Deputy President. This is the honourable thing to do if he is to avoid pathological lies,” he added.

The MPs also pocked holes into Dr Ruto’s utterances that since the March 18 handshake between President Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Mr Raila Odinga, the country had plunged into a Sh7 trillion debt. Dr Ruto had termed the debt a tragedy that must be investigated.

The Raila allies, however, maintained that every government decision Dr Ruto criticised had been made in his presence; either as a participant in making it, or by chairing a Cabinet meeting that made it.

“Our records indicate that since the handshake, he (Dr Ruto) has attended full Cabinet meetings and has from time to time chaired them in the absence of the President. In fact, he is the chairman of the Inter-governmental Budget and Economic Council made up of Cabinet ministers and governors. This is the council that allocates funds to counties,” said Mr Kioni. 

Yatta MP Mr Charles Kilonzo was not amused by Ruto’s continuous use of his official residence in Karen to attack the Jubilee government and its performance.

“As a leader if you are not comfortable in how you are treated then you should leave office. Ruto is not special if the likes of Jaramogi Oginga did it then he is not special,” he remarked.

Mr Kilonzo also urged the DP to avoid preaching class wars and conditioning the minds of Kenyans that the August 9 elections would be rigged. “The DP should remember that he still has an ongoing case at the International Criminal Court and should therefore be careful about his utterances because they have capability of instigating post-election violence,” he added.

Kamukunji MP Mr Yusuf Hassan questioned why the DP used state resources to campaign for his presidential bid, like in his Sh107 million trip abroad, yet on the other hand he spoke ill of the same administration. “The UDA endorsement of Ruto was confirmation that he defected from Jubilee under which he was elected as the Deputy President. If he has moved on from the party he should relinquish his role as the second in command,” said Mr Hassan.

Jubilee has also vowed to declare vacant seats of MPs and MCAs who have decamped to UDA.

Referencing the Political Parties Act, Mr Kioni said the law does envisage a person being a member of more than one political party at a time. Jubilee will issue a notice of resignation to the Clerks of the relevant Houses and county assemblies for the Jubilee MPs, Senators and MCAs “…publicly promoting the ideologies, interests and policies” of other parties. And by this, cause them to vacate their positions in the two houses of Parliament.

Jubilee will initiate the process of revoking the appointment of all nominated Jubilee MPs, Senators and MCA. “Resignation from Jubilee also means that the rebellion makers automatically lose their parliamentary seats,” added Mr Kioni.

Notable leaders that have recently defected from Jubilee to UDA include Kiambu senator and senate Majority Chief Whip Kimani Wamatangi, Molo MP Kuria Kimani and a number of MCAs.