• Murathe says Ruto's act is unheard of anywhere in the world
• Says Duale may survive the axe as he has done his work diligently
Image: FILE
Jubilee party vice chairman David Murathe now claims that Deputy President William Ruto personally mobilised Senators to snub a Parliamentary Group meeting convened by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House.
Murathe on Thursday said Ruto’s move was the "height of insolence" as the DP was now directly sabotaging the presidency.
Murathe’s revelations could be a clear pointer that Uhuru and Ruto’s relationship had badly deteriorated into nasty political backstabbing.
“It’s not a secret the deputy president was actively whipping senators not to attend. That is the height of insolence, it's unheard of anywhere in the world,”Murathe said in an interview with K24.
He went on: “This is not just defiance; it’s a threat to the President. He is actually asking the President ‘who do you think you are? You can actually call a PG and I can ask them not to come and I will show you my numbers’. Unfortunately, in this case, the numbers didn’t add up.”
It is at this State House meeting that Ruto’s confidants Kipchumba Murkomen and Susan Kihika were kicked out as Senate majority leader and majority whip respectively.
Twenty senators attended the meeting, but Ruto's wing claimed Uhuru did not get the requisite numbers for the ouster and termed the meeting illegal.
They moved to court.
In public, Ruto has remained mum despite the onslaught on his men.
On Friday, Senate Deputy Speaker Kindiki Kithure, another close confidant of the DP is expected to fall.
The special sitting to discuss his removal is coming up for debate in the Senate this afternoon.
On Wednesday, Ruto moved to President Kenyatta’s backyard on a food distribution drive characterised by heavy political symbolism.
The government last month banned direct food and non-food donations to the vulnerable and directed that such support should be offered through the Covid-19 Emergency Fund.
However, the DP toured the expansive Kikuyu constituency with donations tucked in bags clearly emblazoned “William Ruto Foundation and Kimani Ichung’wa.”
Ichung’wa is an unwanted man in Uhuru’s circles.
In his interview, Murathe said Duale may survive the purge on Jubilee National Assembly leadership.
He said Duale has diligently pushed through government agenda in Parliament and his political affiliations were immaterial.
“Personally, I think the majority leader has done his job. His loyalty may lie elsewhere in terms of his political affiliation, but we are not bothered, that is his democratic right,”Murathe said.