President Uhuru Kenyatta should reconstitute the Cabinet to ensure discipline in government, an ODM lawmaker has suggested.
Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo said the ongoing wrangles in the ruling Jubilee Party have created factions in government, hence jeopardising service delivery.
"We cannot have a government operating without direction. First, he needs to collapse the Cabinet, take time for self-retrospection and reconstitute one that will serve the interest of the people of Kenya," he said.
Odhiambo said a faction is pledging its allegiance to the President and the other to Deputy President William Ruto. He noted that the division has extended to Parliament, where a section of Jubilee lawmakers have consistently scorned the President and some Cabinet Secretaries.
“It looks like a section of the Cabinet is with him and the other is with Ruto. It appears that Jubilee legislators are contradicting each and every move the President makes without taking cognisant that they are in government,” the legislator said.
He cited Senate Majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen, a close ally of the DP. On several occasions, the senator has criticised the President and some Cabinet Secretaries for their decisions, including the takeover of four functions of the Nairobi government.
“The Majority leader in the Senate has been outrightly castigating ministers who belong to the same government. So, people are left to wonder whose interest they are serving,” he said.
Last week, Murkomen scathingly attacked Uhuru for "militarising" civilian state agencies after he seconded seven top military personnel to the Nairobi Metropolitan Service.
Last year, the Elgeyo Marakwet Senator took a swipe at Interior CS Fred Matiang'i for disarming police reservists in the volatile Kerio Valley region.
Other DP allies who have castigated the President include MPs Oscar Sudi (Kapseret), Ndindi Nyoro (Kiharu) and Kimani Ngunjiri (Bahati).
Early this year, Uhuru sacked Mwangi Kiunjuri as Agriculture CS, a Ruto confidant, for his involvement in politics.
Odhiambo said the continued criticism of the President and his Cabinet by the leaders elected on the party he leads, points to a crack in government that calls for reconstitution of the Cabinet.
"When it gets to that scenario, the only option is to reconstitute government,” he said.
The MP added that the President should consider constituting a Cabinet that reflects the country's diversity to ensure faster economic recovery after the Covid-19 crisis.
(Edited by F'Orieny)