Jubilee Party vice chairman David Murathe has accused Deputy President William Ruto of being evasive on his stand on the Building Bridges Initiative.
"The position of the Jubilee Party is to support the BBI report and the constitutional amendments. It's a pity that he (Ruto) is prevaricating; on one hand he says he is the principal assistant to the president and on the other he is putting roadblocks to the realization of the amendments," Murathe said in an interview on KTN on Thursday night.
Murathe said the DP as the principal assistant of the president, cannot purport to have different stand from the president.
He further noted that Jubilee party members going against the party's stand on the BBI could face expulsion as disciplinary action were opened in a meeting on Tuesday.
"If you are going against the party positions on this issues, possibilities of expulsion, suspensions are there. They are on the cards," Murathe said.
On whether this will extend to the DP, Murathe said, "It doesn't matter who you are. He must have read our party constitution."
He insisted that Ruto should render his signature publicly to show support of the Amendment Bill, and not by word of mouth.
"This man has been on record saying he has supported, We want to see him signing. Uhuru signed, Musalia signed, Wetangula signed, governors have signed. When will he be captured on TV signing?," Murathe said.
On whether Ruto's support to the BBI could warrant the party and Uhuru's backing on his presidential ambition Murathe said there could be new formations that will force him to find a space in the position.
However, Murathe said he would vote for Ruto if he contested as a Jubilee candidate for presidency with him still a member.
Ruto on Wednesday, presented a myriad of demands to issue his support to the BBI.
The DP claimed there were 146, and a host of governors to demonstrate his clout, Ruto called for radical amendments to the already published BBI Bill.
The DP and his troops are also demanding the referendum be held alongside the 2022 General Election. Political observers see calling for a dual vote as a tactic to oppose the plebiscite.
In a lengthy press conference, the DP and his troops fell just short of declaring Uhuru a reckless President. They said he pushed through a referendum amid a pandemic and a struggling economy, which they said was on the "verge of full-scale collapse".
“It is legitimate to question the wisdom of expending Sh14 billion a year before an election that will cost another Sh42 billion [2017 figures], when the referendum could be conducted as a seventh ballot in the General Election at virtually no extra cost.
"We believe it is prudent to hold the referendum along with the General Election in 2022,” they declared in a joint press statement.
The Ruto team said Kenyans want the focus on the BBI redirected to “runaway corruption, heightened political intolerance, the securitisation of public affairs, as well as impunity and the flagrant disobedience of court orders by the Executive”.
