Jeers, cheers in North Rift following Murkomen’s fall from Senate perch
Winstone Chiseremi @Wchiseremi
The sacking of Deputy President William Ruto’s allies, Senators Kipchumba Murkomen and Susan Kihika from parliamentary positions, drew mixed reactions yesterday from residents, elders and religious leaders in the North Rift region.
Senators Murkomen (Elgeyo Marakwet) and Kihika (Nakuru) who were Majority Leader and Chief Whip respectively, were sent packing by President Uhuru Kenyatta during a Jubilee meeting on Monday attended by the ruling party and Kanu senators at State House.
Kanu’s West Pokot senator Samuel Poghisio was picked as the new Leader of Majority while Irungu Kang’ata (Murang’a) replaced Kihika.
The removal of the duo follows deterioration of relations between Uhuru and Ruto since the March 9, 2018 Handshake of the President and Opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Speaking to People Daily yesterday, retired Anglican Church of Kenya Eldoret Diocese Bishop Thomas Kogo said the tiff between the President and his deputy does not augur well for the unity of Kenyans.
He asked the two to resolve their differences amicably to restore the confidence of Kenyans who voted for them in the 2013 and 2017 elections.
“We do not want to witness a situation where one group supports the President and another the DP because we have only one government headed by Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto as his deputy,” said Kogo.
Stalled projects
However, John Kolbuch, an elder, said the move was expected because Ruto and his allies had ignored Uhuru’s call to politicians to go slow on 2022 campaigns and concentrate on delivering services to the public.
Kolbuch said the region has many stalled projects and yet leaders who are supposed to spearhead their implementation are focusing on 2022 politics.
“We have not heard him (Ruto) and his allies led by Elgeyo Marakwet senator champion the completion of the stalled projects which are the economic livelihood of the community in the region,” he added.
Former Marakwet West MP Francis Mutwol expressed fears that all key people from the community serving in the national government were likely to face the sack due to bad blood between the President and his deputy.
“We have enjoyed the fruits of the DP and his boss but now that their relations are becoming frosty each passing day, I am foreseeing a purge on senior officials from the community serving in the government and parastatal bodies,” he said.
