Munya castigates critics of Jubilee purge on 'rebels'

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya has dismissed critics of the Jubilee party’s purge against its 'rebellious' senators, Members of Parliament and County Assemblies.

Munya, who spoke in Kirinyaga county, said the critics of jubilee disciplinary action against its members are unfair. Kirinyaga’s Governor Anne Waiguru has been having problems with ward representatives who passed a motion for her removal over several allegations and have also slashed some of her development projects budgetary allocations

The CS was accompanied by Waiguru and several elected and nominated ward representatives. Munya said the Jubilee Party’s move of removing Senate’s deputy speaker, Majority leader, Chief whip; Kithure Kindiki, Kipchumba Murkomen, and Susan Kihika respectively, and committee chairmen was legal.  

He further said removal of other rebellious leaders in Parliament among others was also in order and democratic and that there was no dictatorship of miscarriage of democracy in the party’s purge.

Munya’s remarks were applauded by Waiguru and the MCAs who are supportive of her and coffee societies, leaders and private estate owners who were present.

Waiguru recently called on the party to purge the rebellious MCAs to enable her to fulfill the Jubilee manifesto and development agenda.   

“I read in today’s papers about some people saying Kenya’s democracy has weakened and that the country has plunged into dictatorship. I am a politician, and a professional lawyer and I have also studies on democracy at the university and thus I disagree with them,” the CS said.

He said parties facilitate carrying out of democracy through coming out with agenda and manifestos.

He said if the committees are unable to render the work over which they were formed on behalf of the party and the government, the chairman and members cannot just be allowed to remain there but changes must be made to make things move.

Munya argued that this is what Jubilee is doing and thus, “he does not see weakening of democracy or the country plunging into dictatorship”.

“If you have failed to deliver your duties in a committee as a chairman and the party it takes the office and give it to somebody else, where is the democracy weakening?” he asked.

Munya at the same time disclosed that the government is looking into ways of ensuring farmers get satisfactory and guaranteed prices from their coffee even when the world price falls in order to uplift their living standard and sustain their farming.

Waiguru had asked him to ensure farmers get satisfactory and guaranteed prices noting that lack of such incentives and plummeting of coffee prices was a challenge making youth shun coffee farming. It also demoralizes farmers, she said.

He said the government was planning to digitise all coffee societies,  factories, mills and exchange centres to improve the quality of coffee for it to fetch good prices and smoothen all coffee transactions to improve prices.

Edited by R.Wamochie