Jubilee fallout: Tuju on why DP Ruto is 'unsackable'

Deputy President William Ruto at Kariobangi Roundabout, Mathare constituency, Nairobi. [DPPS]

Deputy President William Ruto is hanging on by the mercy of the 2010 constitution he once rejected.

Jubilee secretary general Raphael Tuju has said if it were not for the law, the DP would have been sacked.

His comments come on the backdrop of a split in the party that has seen the deputy president publicly declare his loyalty to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

Tuju spoke during an interview on KTN News, where he was questioned on why the party cannot punish the deputy president for his blatant disloyalty to Jubilee.

Tuju said, “Ruto is extremely lucky. He opposed the 2010 constitution. He voted no, but that same law protects him from being removed unless he is impeached by Parliament.”

“The Parliament procedure is very disruptive. We have to mobilise two-thirds of parliamentarians to impeach him … it will take months,” the party secretary-general added.

He said President Uhuru Kenyatta would rather spend his remaining days focusing on building the country, and not the DP’s removal.

The ridge in the party has further been deepened by mini polls that have seen Ruto field and support non-Jubilee candidates.

The infighting within Uhuru’s team has been linked to the string of losses in recent by-elections, as everyone claims to be in charge, more so the secretariat, clashing with the parliamentary leadership.

In the Juja by-election in May, the Jubilee candidate lost to the People’s Empowerment Party affiliated with Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.

The party also lost the Rurii ward seat in Nyandarua to UDA, the party associated with DP Ruto.

Jubilee members are promoting the ideals of other parties and getting away with it, with only the low-hanging fruits, such as nominated leaders, being punished.

Garissa Township MP Aden Duale and Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata, both allied to Ruto, have described Jubilee as beyond rescue.

“In our second term in office, Jubilee was hijacked by non-elected leaders. These people started running the party outside the spirit of the party. They started dictatorship and expulsion of members. Even the deputy party leader was declared a persona non-grata,” said Duale.  

On the Kiambaa by-election, Tuju said Uhuru was not actively on the campaign trail because he “was focussing on important things, other than crisscrossing Kiambaa”.

He went on: "That for me is more important than him going to campaign in Kiambaa and he's not on the ballot next year."

Tuju said the reason Ruto is actively campaigning ahead of 2022 was that “what matters to him is winning next year, he has no moral responsibility”.

He poked holes into Ruto’s hustler narrative, saying he cannot come in a chopper to deliver wheelbarrows.

The secretary-general said those pushing for him to leave over the by-election losses are malicious.

He downplayed the fact that Ruto can field non-Jubilee candidates through his UDA party and that they would win.

Tuju said there is a difference between the electorate voting to support a UDA candidate and voting as a protest against Jubilee.