Uhuru allied MPs speak on Ruto impeachment claims

A group of MPs allied to President Uhuru Kenyatta has warned members of team Tangatanga to be careful of what they wish for their leader, warning that they could be forced to bring a motion to impeach Deputy President William Ruto should circumstances call for it.

The MPs spoke on Monday hours after a fake document emerged on social media suggesting that the National Assembly had already scheduled a motion to impeach the DP for gross violation of the Constitution and misconduct.

The fake document, a supposed Order Paper, detailing the business of the National Assembly, shows that a motion has already been scheduled and debate for the same for June 2, with Kieni MP Kanini Kega as the sponsor of the motion.

FAKE DOCUMENT

The National Assembly dismissed the document as fictitious and one intended to mislead the House and the public.

“No notice of any such special motion has been received in the offices of the Speaker or the Clerk as alluded [to] in the fictitious document. No list of signatures in support of such a motion has been received by either of the two offices,” Mr Michael Sialai, the Clerk, said. He added: “The formatting of the document in terms of nomenclature, spacing, punctuation and numbering shows that it is a creation of people bent on circulating fake news.”

The document had several glaring mistakes. First, it refers to the sixth session of the 12th Parliament when the National Assembly is currently on the fourth session.

It further shows that the agenda begins at Order 9, skipping Order 8, which is not the regular order of doing business in Parliament.

The House is on a month-long recess and will resume on June 2. The Order Paper of any sitting day is published by the Office of the Clerk following approval by the House Business Committee, which is chaired by Speaker Justin Muturi.

MOTION
“The committee is yet to meet to consider and approve the business to be transacted when the House resumes in the week starting June 2,” Mr Sialai said.
Mr Kega, Mr Joshua Kutuny, and Mr Emmanuel Wangwe described the document as “extremely cheap, preposterous and lacking in content”. They argued that the House has a lot on its hands than think of such a motion.

“The architect of the fake order paper should realise that what you wish for might become a reality. I’ve not authored such a motion. It’s far-fetched and a product of somebody’s fertile imagination,” Mr Kega said. Saying the House is focused on the President’s Big Four agenda, Mr Kega said he will seek the Speaker’s direction on the document, which, he further said, he wants properly investigated to establish its source.

“Forgery of documents is one of the most apparent indiscipline in Jubilee party. If somebody is not forging a document claiming a plot to kill him, others are forging an Order Paper.”

Last week, elders and political leaders from Rift Valley challenged President Kenyatta and his deputy to sit down and talk over the thorny issues in Jubilee Party, They said this will ease the rising tension.
In an interview with the Nation, members of the Kalenjin Council of Elders said the escalating cold war between the two leaders was not good for the country at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is ravaging the world.

However, Mr Kutuny warned the President not to fall into the trap, arguing that the leaders were placing Ruto’s personal interests above those of the community and country.