• Tuju says the party will not be a refuge for the corrupt.
• Nyoro to take control as Waititu is barred from office.
Image: FILE
Governors facing graft charges are staring at tough times after Jubilee declared its unequivocal support for a radical court ruling that requires them to vacate office.
Jubilee Party secretary-general Raphael Tuju termed the ruling progressive, saying the decision meant the Judiciary will no longer be used as "a hideout by the corrupt".
He said even the party will not be a refuge for the corrupt.
"We unreservedly support the ruling by Justice Mumbi Ngugi. For a long time, we have complained that the corrupt are using the Judiciary as a hideout. This is a progressive decision,” Tuju, who is also a Cabinet secretary, told the Star.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has often accused the Judiciary of being a stumbling block in the graft war by issuing "lenient bail terms".
"I'm calling for the Judiciary to ensure its procedures are not used to protect impunity," Uhuru challenged Chief Justice David Maraga at the anti-corruption conference in January.
Last week, Justice Ngugi ruled that governors charged with corruption should stay away from their offices and their roles completely taken over by their deputies for the duration of the trial.
She said Section 62(6) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, which state officers have been using to hang onto office, "entrenches corruption and impunity in the land".
Tuju, a close confidant of the President, spoke shortly after Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu was denied access to his office over graft charges. Jubilee has 25 governors.
The decision effectively makes James Nyoro, with whom Waititu has been embroiled in nasty squabbles, the de facto Kiambu county chief.
Waititu, a close ally of Deputy President William Ruto, has been charged in relation to a Sh588 million tender scam.
Criminal trials run into years and it's possible the charged governors will remain in the cold by 2022.
But according to Tuju, Jubilee’s own constitution has even a higher integrity threshold than Kenya’s supreme law.
He said before the election, all Jubilee candidates signed to adhere to the integrity codes, which, among other requirements, include zero tolerance to graft.
A preamble of the Jubilee constitution, which Tuju unveiled on Tuesday, is “A pledge and a commitment to fight and eliminate corruption and incidental vices at all levels of government and institutions of government”.
The radical decision is a shocker for county chiefs, coming at a time when the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission is hunting down several governors. Several governors have been shaken to the core and two Jubilee governors, Waititu and Samburu’s Moses Lenolkulal have already been fallen.
Lenolkulal, alongside other senior county staff, is facing prosecution over Sh84.7 million fuel fraud at the county. He has appealed against the decision to bar him from accessing his office.
Other governors under investigations include Charity Ngilu (Kitui), John Nyagarama (Nyamira), Alfred Mutua (Machakos) and Ali Korane (Garissa).
The EACC has confirmed they are investigating nearly all governors in the Northastern region.
(Edited by F'Orieny)