Why Ruto remains Uhuru’s deputy despite Jubilee ouster

Deputy President William Ruto will remain the country’s second-in-command as Jubilee Party does not intend to initiate any process, for now, to remove him from the position after he was kicked out of the ruling outfit on Saturday. 

 Party officials said they were focused on rebranding and managing President Uhuru Kenyatta’s succession and do not intend to pursue anything else that might distract them from ensuring the success of the Azimio la Umoja coalition.

 The Azimio alliance brings together all parties supporting ODM leader Raila Odinga’s bid to succeed Uhuru and has won the President’s backing.

Jubilee deputy secretary-general Joshua Kutuny yesterday said they were not keen on pursuing the DP’s removal and will focus more on rebranding and strengthening the party after entering into a deal with a number of outfits including Raila’s ODM to form the new coalition.

 “The Deputy President is no longer a party official. The focus has moved. We are now more focused on strengthening the party, improving its image other than looking for those who should resign or not,” said Kutuny, who took over the party post from Kositany.

The Cherangany MP said they were more interested in ensuring the success of Azimio in the next elections.

 “He (the DP) is a worthy opponent. But it is only a few months until elections so we are more interested in rebranding our party and building the new coalition,” added Kutuny.

 The decision to expel him was approved by the party’s National Delegates Convention (NDC) graced by President Uhuru at KICC on Saturday. His position was split into four and given to Kinoti Gatobu (former Buuri MP), Peter Mositet (former Kajiado senator), Jimmy Angwenyi (Kitutu Chache North MP) and Naomi Shaban (Taveta MP).  Without a party, anyone could go to court to challenge his continued stay as the DP after expulsion from the outfit he was elected to office on.

For that to happen, however, the Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu must first ratify the NDC’s decision to remove the DP’s name from the party list.  Yesterday, Nderitu told People Daily she was still waiting for communication from Jubilee on its resolution before deciding on what action to take.

 “I have not received any official communication. I can only act on what I have received,” Nderitu said.

Not bothered

 Soy MP Caleb Kositany yesterday told People Daily they were still waiting for official communication from the party before deciding on the action to take although he said they were not bothered much by what happened on Saturday.

 “It is funny how they are asking him to quit. The process to remove him was a fumble. But we are still waiting for official communication and then we will know what action to take from there,” he said in response to reports some Jubilee members wanted the DP to quit his position after being kicked out of the party.

 The Ruto ally, who was also struck out after joining UDA, said those keen to face off with the DP should prepare for a battle with him in the upcoming elections instead of asking for his resignation.

 “It is also too late. They should not be scared. They should prepare to face us during the elections,” said Kositany.

 The President and his deputy fell out due to irreconcilable differences, some of them the Head of State cited during Sagana III meeting in Nyeri last week, and are presently engaged with competing political groupings, a situation that appeared to have occasioned the DP’s expulsion from Jubilee. The President is keen on Raila succeeding him through Azimio while Ruto has launched his campaign to replace his boss after the August 9 polls.

The DP is leading the United Democratic Alliance, which has entered into a coalition with Amani National Congress (ANC) and Ford Kenya parties led by Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula respectively.

 He has long been associated with UDA although he is yet to formally become a registered member as the law barred him from joining another outfit before his tenure as DP ends unless he resigned and sought another party.

 His party-less status might be for a few weeks as the DP will be expected to register with a party by March 26 if he intends not to vie as an independent candidate. The recently amended Political Parties Act requires all parties in the coming elections to submit their membership lists to the Registrar by that date to provide the office adequate time to peruse before the party nominations scheduled for mid-April.

 Despite Jubilee’s reluctance to kick him out, the DP enjoys protection by the Constitution, which has made it difficult to remove the President or the deputy from office.

The Constitution makers appear not to have anticipated a situation where the President or his deputy can lose their party membership while in office as the Supreme law does not include this as one of the reasons why they should lose their seats. The DP left the country for an extended overseas trip on Sunday, leaving behind a charged political scene and although he got a reception deserving of his position when he arrived in Washington DC on Sunday, he will have to deal with a dicey situation when he comes back in 10 days as he will now be a DP without a party.

 Garissa Town MP Aden Duale, however, said the DP would see out his full term without any fear of being forced out.

• Jeremiah Kiplang’at

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