Uhuru moves to stem dissent within Jubilee.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto Monday aggressively moved to stamp out murmurs of dissent in the Jubilee coalition.
Pushing back against a chorus of calls to sack certain officials in government, the two said they will not be dictated to on who should serve in their administration.
The President accused some Jubilee MPs of being sponsored by “brokers” to use unjustified means to get tenders.
“We are firmly in power and nobody will intimidate me on whom to appoint or sack from the government,” he said, while advising the legislators to be cautious.
He appeared to be reacting to calls by Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter to sack two principal secretaries for allegedly coaching witnesses to fix Mr Ruto in the crimes against humanity cases against him and President Kenyatta at the ICC.
Kesses MP James Bett supported the sentiments, saying, officials who “fixed” the Deputy President should not be in government.
“The fixers wanted Ruto to be hanged at The Hague and there is no reason they should continue serving in the government,” Mr Bett said to cheers by the crowd.
Political brokers
Mr Keter claimed the government was unfair in issuing tenders, citing the Sh1.3 trillion railway construction project.
The Jubilee MPs traded accusations as those opposed to Mr Keter’s sentiments were heckled for being untruthful.
However, President Kenyatta said the era of corruption was long gone and those who failed to secure government tenders should look for opportunities elsewhere.
“We cherish democracy, but few individuals should not take us for granted.
We know what we are doing and MPs should not allow themselves to be misused by political brokers,” Mr Kenyatta said.
The Deputy President said nobody should speak on his behalf about the ICC matter or sacking of some individuals in the government but instead concentrate on their roles in developing the country.
“Why be bothered with the ICC? I have been there several times and back,” Mr Ruto said.
He urged MPs to be systematic in handling their roles and allow him and President Kenyatta to concentrate on delivering on their election pledges.
Mr Ruto switched to Kalenjin to explain why sacking of some individuals will have negative repercussions on the Jubilee government.
“We were voted in on the basis of uniting Kenyans, and there are a lot of development matters to handle and not trivial issues,” he said while dismissing the sacking calls and claims of discrimination in issuing of tenders as acts of stupidity.
Earlier, the Leader of Majority in Parliament Aden Duale claimed some MPs were receiving favours, including money and hiring of choppers, to wreck the Jubilee government from within.
Source-nation.co.ke
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