President William Ruto has slammed the brakes on the intended purge of his critics and internal rebels from plum parliamentary committee leadership positions.
The move may come as a temporary reprieve for several allies of impeached DP Rigathi Gachagua, who were facing ouster for defying positions taken by the party.
The Raila Odinga-led ODM party was pushing to occupy some of the key leadership positions that were going to fall vacant in the event of a shakeup.
Some of the former PM’s allies were to take over the posts left by the targets, mostly those who opposed or hesitated to take a position in the impeachment of Gachagua. At least 10 committees were to be affected by the changes, including the Budget and Appropriations Committee.
The changes, which top players had indicated were to be effected before the lawmakers proceeded for the long recess, have since been shelved. National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed, who was to lead the process, told the Star the changes have been paused. He did not divulge further details.
“We have held it a little bit. I will give updates when we embark on it,” said Junet, who is serving his third term as Suna East MP.
According to other parliamentary sources, President Ruto has urged his compatriots to allow the political temperatures post-Gachagua ouster to cool down.
The President is said to be not keen on stirring more dissent, especially in the Mt Kenya region whose MPs were to be mostly affected by the purge. Gachagua has been leading the charge against Ruto, with MPs who participated in his removal, especially those from his Mt Kenya backyard, facing a nightmare.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro was to be ousted from the Budget committee as chairman and replaced with Molo MP Kimani Kuria, who is currently chairman of the Finance and National Planning Committee.
ODM had expressed interest in the Finance Committee, which ordinarily is occupied by the ruling party or coalition of parties. In President Uhuru Kenyatta’s time, the committee was chaired by Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay governor) as part of the negotiations that followed the Uhuru and Raila handshake. Several members of the powerful and infl uential Budget committee were to be removed amid competition for about 30 slots.
“The impact of the changes has been projected as devastating, especially with the protests over government policies like SHA as well as on taxation,” a source said.
The Star has established that the thinking in government circles currently is to “bring many people on board rather than scatter.”
“We wouldn’t want to give our opponents fodder to feast on. They were angling to take advantage of the situation and erode our support further,” the source explained.
But the issue will be revisited “when the time is right and if the chairpersons fail to live up to the expectations of their committee members, who have actually been pushing for their removal.
“Since healing takes a process, we will weigh their performance and those of members then act on the non-performers,” the official aware of the intrigues said.
This may come as a reprieve for dozens of Gachagua allies who were due for removal in the grand plan to realign Parliament with the current broad-based government. Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, a fierce President Ruto critic and a staunch Gachagua ally, was to be replaced as chairperson of the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee.
There was speculation the position held by Wamuchomba, who is among the notable faces of the anti-Ruto rebellion in Mt Kenya, was to be filled by Tiaty MP William Kamket.
The latter was elected on the Kanu ticket. Trade and Investments Committee chairman James Gakuya was to be removed and replaced by vice chairperson Maryanne Keitany (Aldai MP).
Mwala MP Vincent Musau also faced an ouster from the Energy committee for allegedly failing to handle the issue of Adani's deals with Ketraco.
The tenure of Labour Committee chairman Eric Karemba, who was among the MPs who stood with Gachagua during the impeachment, was also discussed in the ouster plot.
Although not related to Gachagua’s removal, Agricultural and Livestock Committee chair John Mutunga (Tigania West MP) was also on the chopping board.
ODM laid claim to the post under the broad-based government arrangement amid accusations that the current holder was failing to articulate Ruto’s agenda.
In the Senate, the changes were to affect Kirinyaga Senator Kamau Murango (Agriculture Committee), Kiambu’s Karungo Thang’wa (Roads), and Nyandarua’s John Methu of the Lands Committee.
For Gachagua allies, the President had no option but to drop the plan. Embakasi Central MP Benjamin Gathiru said there was no other reason for the change other than that the ground has grown hostile.
“The ground is saying it all. They are asking where their listening leader whom they elected went to after the elections,” he said. e lawmaker said the view that some had to diff er with the President’s critics in order to hold a committee slot didn’t sit well with the people.
“They said people will heal after two weeks so they initiate the changes. Instead, the whole country has become sick,” Gathiru told the Star on the phone.
He added that the machinations follow that the anti-tribalism narrative is no longer selling and the realisation that there is a problem in every corner of the nation.
“Removing someone from a committee is almost akin to removing someone from the party. Wanjiku have said no to these tricks,” the MP added.
For the House leadership, committee changes were being planned to review their performance over the past two years.
The leadership also indicated that the changes were to help make the teams more efficient and vibrant and for equality in positions. Some members have been lamenting they have been posted to “colourless” committees when others are in more than two lucrative ones.
Some chairpersons and their deputies have been put on spotlight by their colleagues for among others sluggishness in dealing with their issues.
In a recent sitting National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah said chairpersons and their deputies with a penchant for skiving sittings would be punished.
The leaders, about 60 in number,
were blamed for being the leading
cause of quorum hitches in the
House.
During his recent State of the Nation Address, President Ruto cited
lethargy in acting on bills as among the issues he wanted MPs to deal with.
