Allies of Deputy President William Ruto are engaged in a new political battle with the ruling Jubilee Party and are demanding a share of the political parties cash.
The DP's troops are now demanding that their new found party, the United Democratic Alliance, should get a share of the millions.
Apart from the share, the MPs are calling for a thorough audit of Jubilee books to expose alleged fictitious expenditure.
On Friday last week, the Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu announced that her office has already wired Sh353.8 million to Jubilee for the 2020-2021 financial year.
Speaking to the Star, Soy MP Caleb Kositany said UDA has the majority of elected leaders and deserves a share of the cash.
"From governors, MPs to MCAs the majority have moved to UDA which makes it paramount that UDA, a party which has a pre-election agreement with Jubilee, should get a share of the money,” Kositany said.
But Jubilee deputy secretary general Joshua Kutuny dismissed the Tangatanga leaders, calling on them to resign and seek fresh mandate if they want their own money.
The Charangany MP said the Political Parties Fund has been given to the ruling party because of the numbers of its elected leaders.
Only Jubilee and ODM got a share. ODM has been given Sh165 million, giving it a massive war chest as it faces the 2022 polls.
The Tangatanga MPs also wants Auditor General Nancy Gathungu to carry out a special audit of the books of Jubilee saying it is not clear how the funds have been used since 2017.
“In the books, they are saying they are paying rent for the entire eight-storey party headquarters yet it does not occupy all the floors. The county offices are not functional, yet in the party’s financial records they are allocated millions of shillings for rent. So we are asking where is this money going?” he posed.
Nyandarua Woman Representative Fiath Gitau alleged that some individuals could be pocketing party cash.
“The money is from the taxpayer and meant to entrench democracy in the parties. What we have seen in Jubilee is not even a semblance of democracy. Jubilee is in the process of merging with ODM and they cannot use funds to carry out their activities,” she told the Star on phone.
The fight for the money comes in the wake of MPs allied to Ruto claiming they have stopped their contributions to Jubilee.
Belgut MP Nelson Koech said over 120 MPs have since written to the clerk of the National Assembly to stop deducting Sh10,000 from them for Jubilee Party monthly remittance.
“We are no longer paying. We stopped when the party declared some of us persona non grata at the party offices. We have a different kitty where we remit our funds to,” he said.
However, Kutuny challenged the MPs to share their pay slips to show if they are no longer remitting their monthly dues.
“Those are just noisemakers who have run out of ideas. Jubilee Party is open and democratic. Those who have left us should do so quietly,” he said.
Clerk of the National Assembly Michael Sialai could not deny or confirm whether the contribution from the Ruto brigade had been stopped.
"If they did [write to the Clerks Office], action must have been taken. The accuracy of the information solely lies with the members concerned," Sialai told the Star on phone.
In February, Sialai had confirmed receiving requests from more than 100 members to stop their monthly party deductions to Jubilee.
Most of the members want their money sent to a welfare group- Kazi ni Kazi – affiliated to the UDA.
The Political Parties Act, 2011, which established the Political Parties Fund, sets an allocation of not less than 0.3 per cent of national revenues to political parties to entrench democracy.
Jubilee and ODM are the only political parties that have been benefitting given their performance in the last election. According to the Act, 80 per cent of the fund is to be distributed proportionately, considering the total number of votes garnered by each political party in the preceding general election.
Edited by Henry Makori
