Ruto plotted to oust Uhuru, says Murathe

An alleged attempt by Deputy President William Ruto to impeach President Uhuru Kenyatta triggered the ruthless purge in Parliament, a top Jubilee official now claims. Mr Kenyatta’s ally and Jubilee vice chair David Murathe yesterday disclosed that the president effected the changes to take charge of both the Senate and the National Assembly and scuttle any plot to oust him.

Dr Ruto is said to have tried to use MPs to kick out President Kenyatta from power through an impeachment motion, a revelation that has since kicked off a major political storm ahead of the August 9 polls.

However, Dr Ruto and his allies have dismissed the claims as a desperate attempt to whip up emotions against his presidential bid, especially in Mr Kenyatta’s backyard of Mt Kenya. In an interview with The Standard yesterday, Mr Murathe claimed Ruto wanted to use his allies in key parliamentary positions to execute the removal of Uhuru from office.

He claimed the camp made several attempts to topple Mr Kenyatta.

“When we did the changes in Parliament it was purely because of the mischief. People have always wondered why Uhuru fell out with his DP; you also remember before the Sagana II, I said he (the president) was going to spill the beans,” said Murathe.

Dr Ruto had populated parliamentary positions with his allies by taking up the Majority Leader and Chief Whip slots in both Houses before Mr Kenyatta dramatically kicked them out in mid-2020.

Mr Kenyatta fired Mr Kipchumba Murkomen and Ms Susan Kihika from Senate Majority Leader and Senate Majority Whip slots respectively while in the National Assembly, Aden Duale and Mr Benjamin Washiali were shown the door.

All four were allies of DP Ruto.

Mr Murathe said the president took time before making the changes as he was still seeking assurance from ODM leader Raila Odinga of his support in the two Houses. Other Dr Ruto allies were also removed from House committees and their slots taken up by Mr Odinga allies.

“We were not going to do it immediately; it had to be strategic. At that point, we were sufficiently confident that ODM could not betray us,” added Mr Murathe. He said the “sinister schemes” by Ruto made them also plot an impeachment motion against the DP through Lugari MP Ayub Savula.

“We also tried to impeach him, and this is what diluted the clamour by the Ruto’s side. We made them know that they don’t have numbers without the support of Raila,” said Mr Murathe.

“That is when they stopped with their clamour to impeach Uhuru. Do you think the president can lie to the country?” The impeachment claim that have since snowballed into a political storm, started when President Kenyatta reportedly told Kikuyu Council of Elders that he fell out with his deputy over a scheme to impeach him.

Mr Kenyatta reportedly told the elders that Ruto wanted to go behind his back and close ranks with Raila then impeach him. The claims were confirmed by Suna East MP Junet Mohammed who said Ruto reached out to ODM to team up in Parliament and impeach Mr Kenyatta.

Mr Mohammed told the media that Dr Ruto offered Mr Odinga the DP slot and a half of Cabinet if he helped him kick out Mr Kenyatta from power. The political overtures were reportedly made before Mr Kenyatta reached out to Mr Odinga leading to the March 9, 2018 handshake.

This account of events, however, contradicts the one given by Ruto, who in a previous interview said it was Raila who made attempts for talks with him. He reportedly declined before the Pressident and Mr Odinga reached out to each other. Claims and counter-claims of impeachment plot against either Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga have been at the heart of their dramatic fallout after their 2017 win.

The claims of plot against Mr Kenyatta started when he ordered for a lifestyle audit of all public servants in June 2018 and which Dr Ruto allies claimed had been weaponised to fight him politically.

In January 2020, MPs allied to Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga sensationally claimed of a plot to impeach the President. They claimed the plot was hatched during a two-day retreat by leaders allied to Ruto held in Naivasha.

“One of the agenda they discussed in Naivasha was impeachment of the president. We are ready for them; let them bring it to Parliament. We are aware they were collecting signatures to bring to Parliament to impeach President Uhuru Kenyatta,” the MPs said in Parliament.