Kenya Kwanza MPs want Raila supporters fired
A top decision-making organ of the Kenya Kwanza administration yesterday trained its guns on State officers who campaigned against President William Ruto’s election, demanding that they be shown the door.
Kenya Kwanza Parliamentary Group, at a meeting opened by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and addressed last evening by President Ruto, resolved that the administrators be shown the door immediately for their alleged roles in the Azimio campaigns.
Sources in the closed-door meeting said several MPs singled out the Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Maalim Mohamed his Wajir counterpart Jacob Narengo and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) Director General Silas Kinoti, accusing them of actively campaigning for the Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
Others who could be targeted include Trans Nzoia County Commissioner Samson Ojwang, Stephen Kihara of Uasin Gishu and Erastus Mbui of Nakuru.
In one of his campaign rallies in the run-up to the polls, Ruto accused Maalim of planning chaos on Election Day.
Ruto alleged then that the administrator was holding night meetings with people to plan the violence.
He claimed the Rift Valley RC was being helped by Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu and Nakuru county commissioners.
“The Regional Commissioner of Rift Valley, Maalim Mohamed, the County commissioners Samson Ojwang of Trans Nzoia and Stephen Kihara of Uasin Gishu and Erastus Mbui of Nakuru are part of this scheme. They are the people holding night meetings to plan conflict amongst Kenyans,” Ruto said.
Yesterday, lawmakers urged President Ruto’s administration to kick out the provincial administrators who openly campaigned for Raila.
They asked the President and his deputy to also go for top parastatal heads directly involved in anti-Kenya Kwanza campaigns.
“We want the parastatal heads to account for the money spent in the campaigns,” said an MP who asked not to be named.
The MPs who are attending a two-day parliamentary group meeting at a Windsor Hotel told Rigathi to push for the removal of the said State officers.
The resolution was later in the evening communicated to President Ruto to act on.
The President addressed the closed-door meeting in the evening where the resolutions were read out to him.
MPs from the Rift Valley region threw the first salvo narrating how the regional commissioner Mohamed frustrated them during the campaigns.
Personal differences
Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe demanded that the administrators who went against their ethics be sacked.
“We are not advocating for a witchhunt, the exercise should not involve personal differences but those who acted outside their mandate must suffer for their actions,” said Kagombe.
Wajir North Mohamed Ibrahim Saney said the legislators were uncompromising that administrators who openly campaigned for Azimio must be punished.
“In Wajir the County Commissioner, Jacob Narengo was notorious. He frustrated us. He went to the extent of directing the IEBC to hold my certificate,” said Saney.
He added: “The administrators are trained to be apolitical but during this year’s campaigns they took it upon themselves to be used by the State to frustrate some of us. The Wajir County Commissioner is one such individual who should be removed and deployed elsewhere,” demanded Saney.
And addressing the MPs last evening, President Ruto without elaborating asked the lawmakers not to be intimidated by some State officers who he said tried to interfere with Kenya Kwanza’s win at Bomas.
“I am a very strong believer in building institutions like Parliament this is the only way we can secure the country by supporting institutions so that we are dependent on them and not individuals,” said Ruto.
“You are part of this government; you campaigned for it so defend it fully within your powers,” he told the MPs.
“We want the parastatal heads to account for the money spent in the campaigns,” said an MP who asked not to be named.
The MPs who are attending a two day parliamentary group meeting at a Windsor Hotel told Gachagua to push for the removal of the State officials.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro said MPs wanted the administration “rearranged to fit” in the Kenya Kwanza Plan.
“What we want is not for the administrators and State officers punished but we are calling for reorganization,” Nyoro told People Daily.
Cried foul
During the elections campaigns, Kenya Kwanza candidates in some parts of the country faced the wrath of the administrators.
The Kenya Kwanza team led by Ruto, then the DP, cried foul in many occasions on the administrators taking sides.
“We have learnt that there are people who are planning to use chiefs, assistant county commissioners and county commissioners to campaign for Azimio,” said the then DP.
“Chiefs should not be forced to break the law. It’s not your business to organise any political party. You are servants of all Kenyans, irrespective of whatever party they belong to. Do not subvert your oath of office; be faithful to the constitution. Serve Kenyans equally. Azimio should look for its own errand boys,” he added.
Kenya Kwanza leaders in the region have alleged that chiefs had been instructed to campaign for Azimio la Umoja One Kenya candidates so as to help the coalition’s presidential flag-bearer Raila clinch victory.
Restore respect
Former Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi was more categorical saying those used to subvert democracy would end up paying heavily in the coming days.
Mudavadi asked chiefs to remain neutral, act within the law and refuse to be used by State operatives to interfere with the elections.
“We are also telling those in Kenya who are sabotaging democracy to be very careful because, in a few days when Kenya Kwanza will form the government, we shall be capable of inquiring into the role you played trying to sabotage democracy,” he said.
Gachagua was even more candid accusing the former Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho of threatening chiefs and their assistants who were not aggressive enough in campaigning for Jubilee candidates in the Mount Kenya region.
He vowed that the Kenya Kwanza administration would restore the respect of public servants.
“The Kenya Kwanza manifesto speaks candidly on the restoration of dignity and respect of the public service and refraining from using it to manage and interfere with politics,” he said.
“I want to assure our chiefs and their assistants within this republic, that the kind of humiliation subjected to their colleagues who refused to campaign for Azimio candidates will be a thing of the past in our administration.”
