Mount Kenya politicians are trooping to Opposition chief Raila Odinga's office in what appears to be a slow but steady shift as cracks deepen within Jubilee.
Just a day after the Kikuyu Council of Elders asked Deputy President William Ruto to retire in 2022, more than 30 prominent Mount Kenya politicians, businessmen and professionals met Raila for about three hours yesterday.
Some of the notable visitors have complained of being victims of Ruto's machinations during Jubilee Party primaries, which they lost last year.
Speaking to the press at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Nairobi, the leaders yesterday asked Uhuru to continue working with Raila and mercilessly crack the whip on those opposed to the handshake and lifestyle audit.
The comments were seen to be directed at the DP and his allies who are publicly lukewarm about the truce and quietly but vigourously opposed to the new anti-graft war including lifestyle audits.
“We have a country to protect and every leader's role is to serve Kenyans. Those interested in 2022 politics should step down. For now it's service to Kenyans,” former Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau, a close Uhuru ally, told reporters.
Kamau's calls for a purge comes amid speculation about an impending Cabinet reshuffle that could radically alter the country's political terrain.
In addition to Jamleck, former MPs visiting Raila included Kabando Wa Kabando (Mukurweini), Njenga Mungai (Molo), Kembi Gitura (Muranga) and Ndungu Gathenji (Tetu).
On Tuesday, Raila also met ex-nominated Jubilee Senator Paul Njoroge Ben, a known critic of the DP, at his Capitol Hill office.
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In Parliament, a war has erupted between Ruto's men and President Uhuru Kenyatta's lieutenants and it's threatening to get ugly.
There are growing calls for National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale and his Senate counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen to step aside for supposedly not representing the interests of the President in their powerful offices.
On Tuesday, Aldai MP Cornelly Serem named Uhuru's brother Muhoho Kenyatta among sugar barons smuggling the contraband sugar in what was seen as a tit-for-tat in the anti-graft war. However, though an import licence was granted, none was imported.
“Clearly the two majority leaders no longer represent the interests of the party that put them in their current leadership positions in Parliament,” Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu told journalists.
“They represent partisan and sectarian interests. They also clearly do not support the President’s efforts to fight corruption or rid Kenya of contraband and/or poisonous products," he said.
At the centre of the new row is the renewed war against graft, which Murkomen sensationally claimed is being instigated by Uhuru's handlers to cripple Ruto's 2022 presidential bid.
But Murkomen is also being targetted by his own Rift Valley colleagues who accuse him of arrogance, divisiveness and reckless comments that could derail Ruto's journey to State House.
Yesterday evening, a major meeting between the Rift Valley leaders was to be held at Ruto's Weston Hotel along Lang'ata Road where Murkomen's future in Parliament would be decided by his outraged colleagues.
A week ago Duale, a key Ruto ally, named Tejveer Rai as among sugar importers, during an emotional address in Parliament that critics believe was targetted at the Kenyatta family.
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Rai and the Kenyattas are believed to be close.
The Majority leader also alleged that his Somali community was being targeted in the war against contraband and contaminated sugar. Some was seized in Eastleigh, Nairobi.
Yesterday, Ngunjiri said that if Duale and Murkomen fail to resign, they would begin the process of kicking them out.
“If they do not do so [resign], I will be requesting our Party leader Uhuru Kenyatta to call for a Parliamentary Group meeting where we can discuss their conduct with the aim of kicking them out of those two offices,” he stated.
Kabando yesterday urged Uhuru to sustain his anti-graft war and the battle against counterfeits, irrespective of those involved.
“We are telling Uhuru to continue fighting corruption since the country comes first. He should not relent, even on those close to him, be they relatives or those working with him politically,” he said.
On Tuesday the Kikuyu Council of Elders said Ruto is part and parcel of the current presidency and should, therefore, prepare to exit with the Uhuru administration.
“As a Council we are very serious that he [Ruto] has to pack with Uhuru. If Uhuru has to leave in 2022, the deputy should follow suit," national secretary general Peter Munga told the Star.
It was the clearest signal yet of the fluid nature of the DP’s support in Central Kenya, which has been sending mixed signals about whom they will support in 2022.
Munga said Ruto should be satisfied with his 10-year tenure as DP because he has always been vowing to give his best advice to his boss [Uhuru].
“If he has given his best, what would he be doing after 10 years? He would be obsolete,” Munga said.
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