- The DP was not in attendance when President Uhuru chaired a high-level meeting of top officials of the Executive at State House, Nairobi, on Thursday.
- His absence triggered speculations that the President could have finally edged him out of the Executive as their relationship hit rock-bottom.
Image: COURTESY
Deputy President William Ruto has come under fire from President Uhuru Kenyatta's allies who now want him to resign on "moral grounds".
The President's confidants told the Star that while the DP could continue holding office on legal grounds, his sustained presidential campaigns that conflict Uhuru's agenda make his stay untenable.
The DP was not in attendance when Uhuru chaired a high-level meeting of top officials of the Executive at State House, Nairobi, on Thursday. Ruto's aides claimed he was not invited to State House.
This came just days after the President publicly dared his second in command to resign instead of criticising the government from within, accusing him of double speak.
Ruto's roles have largely been taken over by Interior CS Fred Matiang'i but he continues to enjoy a lucrative pay package, round-the-clock security, chase cars and several aides paid by taxpayers.
The DP's absence on Thursday triggered speculations that the President could have finally edged him out of the Executive as their relationship hit rock-bottom.
And now the President's men have come out guns blazing, daring Ruto to make up his mind whether he will continue using taxpayers money for "lazing around".
“Ruto should make up his mind and as a moral standing resign rather then use his office as the principal assistant to the President for personal benefits,” Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu said.
Wambugu, a harsh Ruto critic, said the tendency by the DP to use the state furnished official residence of Deputy President at Karen, Nairobi, for political interests was morally wrong.
“The DP is facing a moral dilemma, it boils down to whether he has the capacity decide if he has the moral standing to continue holding the office funded by taxpayers when he is not working,” Ngunjiri said.
First vice president Jaramogi Oginga Odinga resigned in 1966 from Mzee Jomo Kenyatta's administration over ideological differences. Uhuru's men say the DP should in conscience emulate Jaramogi.
National Assembly Deputy Majority Whip Maoka Maore asked the DP to either stop working at cross-purposes with the President through his frenetic succession campaigns or resign honourably.
The Igembe North MP said the DP has been using government resources, including his official residence, personnel and vehicles for 2022 campaigns instead of working.
“The Deputy President should be the principal assistant to the President but what we have now is a 2022 presidential aspirant engaged in premature campaigns,” Maore said.
The Uhuru ally said the DP should consider throwing in the towel and resign from his position so he can fully concentrate on his 2022 campaigns instead of pulling the government back.
Kieni MP Kanini Kega said he might consider initiating the process of impeaching Ruto to free the President so the Executive could continue serving Kenyans without distractions.
“Definitely, he (Ruto) might find himself on the menu very soon,” Kega said without proving details.
He said the only way Ruto would avert a possible embarrassment in Parliament is resigning.
There has been talk of a plot to remove Ruto from office through impeachment for the last one year, but no MP has collected signatures to initiate the process.
The DP can be impeached on the grounds of a gross violation of a provision of the Constitution or any other law; where there are serious reasons to believe he has committed a crime under national or international law; or for gross misconduct.
A member of the National Assembly, supported by at least a third or 116 of all the members, may move such a motion.
If the motion gets the backing of at least two-thirds of all the members—233 MPs of the 349—the speaker shall inform his Senate counterpart to initiate an impeachment trial.
If at least two-thirds of all senators vote to uphold an impeachment charge, the DP shall cease to hold office.
Currently, three National Assembly seats have yet to be filled in by-elections following deaths of MPs. In the Senate, two seats have yet to be filled.