{UAH} Pojim/WBK: Honeymoon over for UhuRuto as graft purge deepens suspicions - Politics - nation.co.ke

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Honeymoon over for UhuRuto as graft purge deepens suspicions - Politics

By WALTER MENYA
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By ISAAC ONGIRI
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When they spoke soon after the anti-graft dossier was presented in Parliament last week and a week later at the Kenya Private Sector Alliance roundtable, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto were talking tough about corruption in government.

But in private, the political honeymoon appears to be over following the purge of senior officials and parastatal chiefs, the majority of whom are Mr Ruto's allies.

TNA and URP are fuming at each other particularly over the manner in which the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission dossier was handled and the perceived targeting of Ruto cronies.

Among the top allies of Mr Ruto who have been suspended are his Chief of Staff, Marianne Kitany, Cabinet Secretaries Felix Koskei (Agriculture), Davis Chirchir (Energy) and Kazungu Kambi (Labour).

It is unclear who knew what before President Kenyatta presented the list to Parliament. Mr Kambi was one of those who said he wasn't on the list soon after it was presented to Parliament, only for his name to show up on it later.

"My name is not there. In fact I will do battle with media houses trying to incriminate me. I am a fighter of corruption not a facilitator of the same. I can't be there," Mr Kambi said the day after the President presented the list to Parliament.

The Sunday Nation has established that President Kenyatta presented the list to Parliament because of growing exasperating with what has been described as the seemingly insatiable appetite for corrupt deals that was spreading through his government.

At times, a source told the Sunday Nation, the President would personally call government procurement chiefs to caution them against bowing to pressure from politicians and activists.

The President is said to have personally written the last part of his speech where he called on public officials mentioned in the EACC dossier to step aside and kept the plan close to his chest.

The well-laid plan was preceded by the resignations or transfers of top advisers from Mr Ruto's office in protest. Among those who left their offices at Harambee House Annex were Dr James Nyoro, a senior food security and climate change adviser to the presidency and senior sdvisor on climate change and Ali Mohammed, another climate change adviser who was a permanent secretry in the previous govrnment; he moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In addition, the head of legislative affairs Jasper Mbiuki and governance, accountability and felivery ddviser to the Presidency Peter Kariuki also left citing frustration in the Deputy President's office.

Meanwhile in political circles, the TNA camp was cheering on Baringo Senator Gideon Moi and a section of the South Rift leaders including Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto and Kuresoi MP Zakayo Cheruiyot in their supremacy wars with the DP.

The mood around the Deputy President is read from the fact that even some of his most outspoken allies have adopted a wait-and-see attitude and did not wish to comment on the record for this report.

By expelling Mr Chirchir, Ms Kitany, Mr Kambi and Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia, the President has dissolved part of the team that worked hard behind the scenes to ensure the smooth ride to power of the Jubilee government.

Those who know Mr Kimemia describe the soft-spoken career civil servant as a thick-skinned sharp boardroom schemer capable of fighting both short-and long-range battles. Plans to have Mr Kimemia removed began four months after the President settled in office.

He was demoted after the powers to preside over the public service were hived from his docket and his junior, Mr Joseph Kinyua, promoted and named Chief of Staff, Head of Public Service and chairman of the powerful National Security Advisory Committee.

By sending Ms Kitany home, the President's blow hit very close to Mr Ruto given the Chief of Staff's crucial role in the office of the Deputy President.

It is no less than what the former International Criminal Court prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo did to President Mwai Kibaki when he indicted former Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura for the 2007/08 post-election violence.

Speaking soon after the dossier was handed to Parliament last week, vocal Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter, whose name is also in the dossier, did not mince words.

"They have finished William [Ruto]. Look at those being asked to step aside; they are his key ministers. Felix [Koskei], who has been effective in his work and also instrumental in organising bonuses to tea farmers, has been pushed out and more will follow," he said.

Mr Keter's statement captures the mood among some in the URP camp who feel that the President is looking for ways and means to dispense with his deputy.

Ms Kitany is accused of having released some Sh200 million, half of which was used to bribe MPs to facilitate the removal of Devolution Secretary Anne Waiguru, a powerful figure in the Jubilee regime seen to be a close ally of the President.

"Including [Ms] Marianne Kitany in the list is directly linking the Deputy President. He is being accused, in no uncertain terms, of mobilising MPs to impeach [Ms] Waiguru because one may ask how [Ms] Kitany could have used the Sh200 million without the knowledge and approval of the Deputy President," Mr Keter told the Sunday Nation.

But to TNA chairman and Nominated MP Johnson Sakaja, any suggestion that Mr Ruto is being targeted in the purge is most unfortunate.

"There is no basis for making such inference. It has nothing to do with politics. Remember even [Mr] Kimemia and [Mr] Kamau have also stepped aside," Mr Sakaja said.

"The most important thing now is to let the President do the war against the corrupt. The plotters of nasty events such as those who targeted Ms Waiguru should take responsibility. They should not drag the President's or the DP's name in the mud," said Kajiado Senator Peter ole Mositet.

Government Chief Whip in the National Assembly Katoo ole Metito, who is from TNA, is said to have been one of the facilitators of the anti-Waiguru group.

Further in the DP's office, internal wrangling has also been reported following demands by some MPs to have his personal assistant Farouk Kibet removed. The complaining MPs claim that Mr Kibet is arrogant and has no regard for elected leaders seeking appointments with the DP.

But Mr Kibet told Sunday Nation: "This is all nonsense. I know the President's adviser, Mr Joshua Kutuny, is behind those claims against me. I know they are after my good name but they will be defeated."

On the other hand, Mr Chirchir, a former electoral commission official, is a strong Ruto supporter and was the coalition's chief agent at the national tallying centre during the March 2013 elections. His experience with management of elections and IT skills came in handy in the polls after which he was rewarded with a Cabinet slot.

Mr Kambi, on the other hand, is a close associate of Mr Ruto's and was his top campaigner at the Coast.

In addition, the EACC dossier has also seen the suspension of other Ruto allies like Mr Patrick Osero, chairman of the Agricultural Finance Corporation, National Social Security Fund Managing Trustee Richard Langat and Kenya Pipeline Company CEO Charles Tanui.

According to the Nandi Hills MP, URP is seriously considering its partnership with TNA, especially following the release of the EACC dossier.

"In URP, we have to retreat and consider whether we can be in one party (Jubilee Alliance Party). Our partners are not genuine and, personally, I am advising the President to leave out politics in the fight against corruption," he told the Sunday Nation.

According to Mr Sakaja, TNA will not be arm-twisted to condone corruption because of politics.

Honeymoon over for UhuRuto as graft purge deepens suspicions - Politics - nation.co.ke
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