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Jubilee senators talk in parables over Kindiki exit
May 24, 2020
Deputy President William Ruto’s camp had marshalled 22 senators in the failed bid to block the ouster of Kipchumba Murkomen and Susan Kihika from Senate leadership, but only managed seven votes in the removal of Kithure Kindiki as Deputy Speaker.
Politics Critics drop harsh stance against the president to save their positions as nominated MPs or committee slots in Parliament.
At least 15 senators shifted alliance within a span of one week, leaving Ruto’s ally, Prof Kindiki, to endure a humiliating defeat in the Senate where President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga rallied 54 members to eject the Tharaka Nithi Senator. The dwindling numbers in Dr Ruto’s camp exposed the soft underbellies of his loyalists in the face of a crackdown by Uhuru, with the planned June 2 Parliamentary Group meeting for National Assembly expected to further shake the DP’s pillars of influence in the 349-strong House. Ruto’s Tangatanga wing has boasted of at least 116 members in the National Assembly, going by the number of MPs who wrote protest letters to the Registrar of Political Parties to resist Jubilee appointments in solidarity with the DP.
Yesterday, Murkomen defended their colleagues who did not vote with them to defeat the Motion, saying it was a tactical retreat.
Tactical retreat
“You cannot afford to work against the government. Uhuru is the boss up to 2022. Whoever comes in after, be it the DP, we will make the decision then,” said the Senator. “We can’t afford to work at cross-roads with the boss. It’s up to the DP to find ways to mend fences with his boss.” Nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura said the voting pattern was about individual interests and survival. “Committee chairpersons jumped ship to save themselves from the axe. They knew what was to come next after they failed to show up at State House. They threw Kindiki under the bus, leaving him with only seven votes, including his. Never trust the mob,” he said. Jubilee Deputy Secretary General Caleb Kositany claimed members were coerced and intimated to back the Motion. Pro-handshake lawmakers, however, said the outcome of the Senate vote was an indication that Ruto had “imaginary numbers” in Parliament.
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