Eleven MPs have defended Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli against attacks by the Tanga Tanga team, a group of politicians supporting DP William Ruto’s 2022 presidential bid.
The team has sustained attacks on Atwoli after he said last week that Ruto’s name will not be on the ballot in 2022. He spoke at a fundraiser in Lamu.
Addressing a press conference at Parliament Buildings on Wednesday, the legislators, most of them from Western, said Atwoli was within his rights to speak his mind about Ruto's suitability for president.
“As far as we are concerned, Atwoli is a senior Kenyan who expresses his views openly as it is within his democratic rights as enshrined in the Constitution,” they said in a statement read by Lugari MP Ayub Savula.
The MPs also demanded the DP be investigated and a lifestyle audit carried out to establish the source of his wealth.
“If all the allegations are confirmed, the DP should be held accountable legally and that is the premise of him missing the ballot in 2022."
MPs Beatrice Adagala (Vihiga), Simba Arati (Dagoretti North), Alfred Ogoi (Sabatia), Kassait Kamket (Tiati), TJ Kajwang' (Ruaraka), Raphael Wanjala (Budalang'i), Joshua Kutuny (Cherengany) and Sakwa Bunyasi (Nambale) signed the statement.
They said Atwoli’s sentiments were informed by Ruto’s open disrespect of President Uhuru Kenyatta and defiance of the war on corruption.
“His fight against the institution fighting corruption, that is the DCI, shows he is against the collective government effort to fight the vice and therefore not fit for the office of president under Chapter Six of the Constitution on integrity,” Savula said.
Atwoli's remarks sparked condemnations from Ruto’s backers, with others calling for his retirement from the giant Central Organisation of Trade Union, which he has led for decades.
On Monday, eight opposition MPs also defended Atwoli and called on the government to ban Tanga Tanga rallies. They said the team was preaching hate and dividing Kenyans.
