President William Ruto is working on a multi-pronged approach to avert a falling out in Kenya Kwanza, including banning regional caucuses that were raising tensions.
Stung by reports of acrimony and friction among MPs, the President has directed that all concerns should be channelled through the parliamentary leadership and not regional groupings.
Recently, MPs from various regions had been teaming up ostensibly to fight for their people's interests, but it turned out that the groups were otherwise inflaming tensions in the alliance.
Notably, a caucus of MPs from Western was coalescing around Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi while those from Mt Kenya were grouping around Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
There have been fears that the two groups were stoking tensions in Kenya Kwanza after it emerged that they had been pushing for interests including those outside Ruto's priority areas.
Their meetings had been turned into political scheming sessions amid growing tensions between Gachagua and Mudavadi.
For instance, a caucus of MPs from the Gusii region had grouped and was putting pressure on Ruto over the sharing of the national cake.
They had argued that the region had been locked out of top government jobs.
The factions had played out aggressively during the elections for Kenya's representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly, frustrating some of Ruto's favourites.
Mt Kenya MPs had defied Ruto and ganged up to vote for Kanini Kega, a former Kieni MP and Jubilee Director of elections, at the expense of Fred Muteti who had been endorsed at State House.
Amid fears that MPs from Mt Kenya have been holding regional meetings to allegedly push for the community's agenda, claims emerged that they could have been plotting to embolden Gachagua.
Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi told the Nation on Thursday that indeed the President had banned regional caucuses but denied the move was strategic to slow down Gachagua.
“When the President asked us to shun regional caucuses, it was not that he was reading another signal that there is a problem. He only underscored the need not to preach tribalism. He wants us to coalesce as Kenya Kwanza lawmakers and not as regions,” he said.
Kieni MP Njoroge Wainaina said the region will only meet to strategise on how to tackle alcohol abuse in Mt Kenya.
“The President asked us not to coalesce around regions because it’s not healthy for national cohesion and integration. There’s no rift between the two leaders,” Wainaina said.
Some MPs are said to have even started planning on how to change the parliamentary leadership including kicking out National Assembly Majority leader Kimani Ichung'wah.
They were also targeting Majority Whip Sylvanus Osoro, one of Ruto's closest allies.
The President is also said to have promised regular Parliamentary Group engagements with all Kenya Kwanza MPs to build synergy and consensus.
Parliamentary leadership has also been directed to run an open-door policy for lawmakers for swift and timely resolution of grievances.