Jubilee MPs want Ruto to resign as Deputy President, quit government

Legislators allied to the ruling Jubilee Party have now embarked on a spirited campaign to push defiant Deputy President William Ruto resign from government and quit his sponsoring party to the position he is holding for propagating agenda of another party.

They observe that Ruto’s decision to join and embracing a different party while still serving in his official position is no longer tenable.

Yesterday, Ruto was endorsed as the presidential flag bearer for the August General Elections on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party which he has associated with and disparaged President Uhuru Kenyatta’s led Jubilee.

In a statement issued by the party’s Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni, the Members of Parliament (MPs) said Ruto’s remarks in London and the US during last week’s visit confirm he “is not part of the government.”

They said it is absurd for Ruto to have spent Sh107 million from public coffers on the trip, just to go and attack the same government he serves.

“For four and a half years, the UDA Party Leader has done nothing but campaign, earning the title of the Chief Ghost Worker as the President focused on fulfilling his promise of delivery to Kenyans as the Deputy President,” said Simba Arati, MP for Dagoreti.

In both trips, Ruto repeatedly said that he took a back seat after President Uhuru Kenyatta informed him that he needed space to work on his legacy.

The leaders faulted Ruto’s singling out of state agencies which he accused of being biased and promised to institute changes saying they had been captured by the state.

And when he was endorsed as UDA presidential candidate, Ruto said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) were some of the agencies which will be subjected to a raft of reforms to ensure their independence while discharging their mandate.

“The irony was that sitting on the front row of the NDC’s VIP section, were the faces of impunity, corruption, embezzlement, thuggery, murder, and tax evasion in Kenya. There were at least two convicted persons at the NDC’s VIP dais,” said Arati.

Kioni said Ruto and his actions are out of order, particularly because he continues to insult the government from within and from government offices among other resources.

“We want to tell the Deputy President that he is out of order. We want to tell him that this is where we draw the line. Enough is enough,” he said.

The Jubilee secretary-general insisted that Ruto had no option other than to resign as he cannot possibly belong to two parties at the same time.

“The Deputy President cannot serve two masters. And we say so because a man who serves two masters is naturally bound to lie to one,” Kioni stated.

Yatta MP Charles Mutavi urged the second in command to be responsible enough and quit instead of bashing the government on a daily basis.

“If you feel uncomfortable in a position, it’s not good for you to continue receiving a salary. We have cases of former vice presidents who have not happy with what was happening, and they left office,” said Mutavi.