Keter's bid to impeach Waiguru bound to fail

Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter is not new to controversy and so far he has carved a niche of being one of the fiercest critics of the Jubilee administration.

Though he was elected on a United Republican Party (URP) ticket, one of Jubilee’s mainstream affiliate parties, the first-term MP has always come out boldly to denounce some of the decisions made by the Government.

The MP is considered to be a URP rebel. In many cases, top officials in URP have come out guns blazing to denounce his remarks claiming they are an affront to the ideals and policies pursued and upheld by the party.

Deputy President William Ruto, who is the founding leader of URP, has since joined and waded through the fray. He has on various occasions dismissed Mr Keter’s statements and clarified that the MP does not enjoy his blessings.

Keter first came to the limelight when he sensationally claimed that a plot had been hatched to steal billions of shillings from public coffers through the inflation of construction costs for the standard gauge railway (SGR). At one point, he took on President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy head-on challenging them to provide leadership in ensuring the money was recovered.

A few months later, Keter was in the news again for the wrong reasons. This time, he had stormed the Gilgil weighbridge to demand the release of a water-drilling truck, which many believed belonged to URP Nominated MP Sonia Birdi, who had accompanied him.

The MP is once again in the news and this time he is targetting Devolution Cabinet Secretary Ann Waiguru. In his petition, he argues that the CS must step aside.

We know several Cabinet secretaries who were forced to step aside soon after President Kenyatta submitted a report to Parliament that showed 175 State officers were under investigation after being implicated in a series of scandals. Though Ms Waiguru was not one of them, Keter wants her to shown the door on grounds that she later confessed that Sh791 million was stolen from the National Youth Service (NYS), which falls under her ministry.

Unlike other Cabinet secretaries, Waiguru has personally written to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and invited detectives to carry out thorough investigations. This was after she got the brief that plans were under way to steal millions of shillings from NYS. Why target the whistleblower?

This is why Keter’s motion is bound to fail. First, it is clear that he does not enjoy the support of MPs.

The law and House Standing Order No. 66 require him to collect 88 signatures to have the motion approved by the Speaker for debate. The last time I heard from Wiper MP Daniel Manzo, the other key proponent of the anti-Waiguru campaign, only 49 MPs had appended their signatures and most of them were withdrawing them. “Indeed, one of them had even threatened to tear into pieces the petition paper.”

It is also clear the MP does not enjoy the support of the Kalenjin Council of Elders popularly known as Myoot , URP youth and the top leadership of the party.

Reports have indicated the MP made things worse when he snubbed a meeting convened by the elders to discuss his motion.

The Kalenjin believe very strongly in their culture and traditions. Without their blessings, how did he expect to succeed?

Yes, the writing was on wall that the elders did support his motion. However, if I were him, I would have attended and tried to convince them.