• President has tough options in the alleged assassination plot
• Raila's decisive moment as NEC retreat
Image: FILE
Will President Uhuru Kenyatta disband his cabinet? If not, how is he going to deal with the infighting and suspicions that have hit a crescendo and permeated into the cabinet? This is the question that some senior government officials were heard whispering. They said Uhuru has only two options: either completely ignore his deputy William Ruto akin to a political divorce or disband the executive. How will the DP sit next to people he has accused of planning his death? they asked. On Monday, it emerged Ruto had complained to the DCI that a section of top officials from Mt Kenya, including four cabinet secretaries were plotting his assassination. The veracity of the claims remains under probe. Senior counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi said Uhuru must disband his government and start afresh. He said what happened on Monday was unprecedented in Kenya’s history.
It’s a decisive moment for opposition chief Raila Odinga, Orange House insiders told Corridors, as the Party’s National Executive Council heads for a two-day retreat. Those in the know say Raila has to confront the indiscipline that has pervaded nearly all party organs including the secretariat. To salvage ODM, they say, NEC should disband its national elections board, recommend a radical restructuring of the secretariat and do away with sycophants who are averse to alternative ideas in national leadership. It is alleged that some secretariat staff have worked at Orange House for too long and have no new ideas to offer. Still, some top party officials do not have ideas of their own. They have to wait and hear what Raila says and then retort, yes sir! To reposition ODM for 2022 elections, they said ODM must implement in total, a damning recent taskforce report that indicted top party officials. The implementation should be done by hands not contaminated by the endless drama.
A former MP from Nyanza who was appointed to a senior government position is plotting a political comeback with his moves already causing jitters. The former lawmaker, perhaps owing to his changing fortunes, has decided to go for the governor's position in what has put him at cross-hairs with the county chief who is serving his first term. The ex-MP has been conducting a marathon of harambees across the county in the company of top government officials as he prepares the ground for his 2022 gubernatorial bid. But he faces an uphill task as the governor has sponsored a Nairobi-based tycoon to run for the same position so as to split the votes from the ex-MP's stronghold and give the governor a clear lead in the next polls. Is it time the ex-MP changed tact given that the governor's project may complicate his winning matrix? Well, only time will tell.
Where is Mr Speaker Sir? Corridors has learnt that the acting Nairobi county assembly speaker has been a no-show for several weeks now. However, the assembly boss is always spotted walking into his office but goes awol when the business of the assembly starts. The Ngara MCA has not chaired any plenary session for the past three weeks, something that has been noticed by a number of MCAs who are wondering what might have happened to their boss.