Isaac Ruto: Let's return to old system where president appoints deputy

He said this would eliminate the tendency of deputies engaging in unnecessary campaigns.

In Summary
  • Rutto urged those in positions of power to focus on their work and avoid engaging in politics.
  • COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has also called for a re-evaluation of the position within the government.
JSC member Issac Rutto during an event in Bomet on September 29, 2024.
JSC member Issac Rutto during an event in Bomet on September 29, 2024.
Image: HANDOUT

Former Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto has supported the proposal by some leaders that the deputy president be appointed by the president.

Ruto, who is a Judicial Service Commissioner said there was a need to review the law to adopt the previous system where the president selected their deputy, rather than having both positions decided by election.

Ruto said this would eliminate the tendency of deputies engaging in unnecessary campaigning to try and succeed their bosses.

"Let us elect the president only...after that, it will be their decision to pick a deputy of their choice," Ruto said.

"We are tired with these unending politics after every other general election, where when one is given a position he starts putting the country in a campaign mood for a whole five years," he added.

Ruto stated that the country requires stability to fulfill the promises made to its citizenry.

Ruto urged those in positions of power to focus on their work and avoid engaging in politics.

He spoke during an event in Bomet.

Before the promulgation of the current Constitution in 2010, the deputy president then referred to as vice president was an appointee of the president.

Article 148 states that each candidate in a presidential election nominates a person who is qualified for nomination for election as President, as a candidate for Deputy President.

"For the purposes of clause (1), there shall be no separate nomination process for the Deputy President and Article 137 (1) (d) shall not apply to a candidate for Deputy President," it states.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission shall declare the candidate nominated by the person who is elected as the President to be elected as the Deputy President, it adds.

Section 6, however, provides grounds in which a DP can be removed.

COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has also called for a re-evaluation of the position within the government.

Atwoli said there would be no such circus as currently witnessed if the president appointed Gachagua.

He argued that as it is, there is a perception of shared authority and some entitlement that the officeholders feel they are equal to the president which he noted should not be the case.

“The deputy president should be an appointee of the president because once he becomes a running mate he feels he is also a president,” he said.

“A deputy president should not be heard unless he has been told so. We can’t have two presidents at a time,” he noted.

Speaking recently in Kirinyaga, Gachagua maintained that they were both elected with the president and that if he was to go the president should also quit.

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