President Uhuru Kenyatta’s men are moving in to tame Deputy President William Ruto’s influence in Parliament just before MPs return from a two-month recess.
There are ongoing attempts to cut off Ruto’s influence in favour of Uhuru’s side in the bicameral Parliament.
These machinations to change this tide emerged on Tuesday night when Uhuru summoned the Jubilee parliamentary leadership to Mombasa to discuss the upcoming session.
“The DP had initially not been informed but the House leadership said it was only proper that as the Jubilee deputy party leader, Ruto should be part of the discussions,” a source close to yesterday’s meetings in Mombasa told the Star.
As a strategy to reduce the DP’s power in both Houses includes a plan to create a new position of Parliamentary Secretary linking the Executive and the Legislature.
Once created, the Executive will communicating with Parliament through the new office, contrary to the current set-up in which Majority leaders Adan Duale and Kipchumba Murkomen are responsible for government business in Parliament.
If this interface is executed, MP Duale and Senator Murkomen, who are key Ruto allies and advisers, will be reporting to the new office holder, an Uhuru ally.
“This is well captured in the Jubilee constitution. It is not something that is out of nowhere,” an insider said.
Insiders told the Star that Uhuru’s allies have been tasked to reach out to MPs from Central region who are still backing Ruto so they can withdraw their support.
“So far so good, we only have three MPs remaining, one from Murang’a, one from Nyeri and there is another from Kiambu,” an MP familiar with the strategy said.
Jubilee insiders say there have been attempts to reduce Ruto’s influence in Parliament, seen as a result of key positions being held by his allies.
Previous attempts for Uhuru’s side to recapture these positions have been met with resistance.
Other key positions held by Ruto’s allies include the Majority Whip in the National Assembly Ben Washiali, Majority Whip in the Senate Susan Kihika and Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka.
Deputy Majority leader in the National Assembly Jimmy Angwenyi and Senate Deputy Chief Whip Irungu Kanga’ta are also close Ruto allies
Just before Christmas, two MPs from Central Kenya started circulating a lengthy WhatsApp message targeted at Duale, accusing him of frustrating government agendas in the House.
They called on fellow MPs from Uhuru’s backyard to join them in demanding a Parliamentary Group meeting to remove Duale from his position.
The message was dismissed by most other MPs from the region whenever it landed in WhatsApp groups.
Uhuru’s camp currently has the support of MPs allied to ODM leader Raila Odinga.
Also on Uhuru’s side are MPs from Kanu, Wiper and a sizeable number of legislators from Western.
Ruto’s lieutenants have protested against the multi-pronged assault, claiming it’s a scheme by the President to elbow out Ruto from the succession race.
Details of the plan emerged yesterday as Ruto’s supporters voiced concern about Uhuru’s decision to give Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i more power.
Some Ruto allies say the move, which effectively makes the CS the third most powerful man in government, was meant to isolate Ruto and obstruct his State House bid.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei was blunt, saying the changes communicated through an Executive order to make them legally binding were not done honourably.
“It’s clear this was not done in good faith and we clearly see 2022 at play here. The changes were part of a scheme to undermine DP Ruto,” Cherargei said.
On Monday, Uhuru radically reorganised his administration and established a four-tier executive authority.
In the new order, Matiang’i will take charge of the implementation and monitoring of all development projects initiated and funded by the national government through a new Cabinet subcommittee.