Peter Munya threatens to quit APK

Meru governor Peter Munya has threatened to quit the Alliance Party of Kenya (APK) over internal wrangles.

Mr Munya, who is APK's director of elections, said he would leave the party if it does not put its house in order.

"If they are tired of having me in the party then I will leave. There are many other parties which I can join," he said.

Mr Munya, who is also the Council of Governors chairman, was addressing the public in Meru Town on Monday evening during the commissioning of garbage trucks.

The governor regretted that nominated members from his party were openly defying him in the Meru County Assembly.

"We have been working well with the Assembly without party issues. It is strange that the members nominated on the APK ticket are the ones fronting differences with me while all the others don't," Mr Munya noted.

The governor speculated that some "powerful" groups within the party were influencing the MCAs to oppose him.

He added that the differences have been persistent and he thinks the influence is emanating from the party's top leadership.

"If that kind of attitude in the Assembly continues then I will reconsider my membership to the party," he said.

'PLENTY OF PARTIES'

This follows a standoff between the county executive and the Assembly over the allocation of a Sh1.5 billion Ward Development Fund for the 45 wards.

The Assembly allocated Sh35 million per ward for the fund whereas Mr Munya's executive wants the amount reduced to Sh25 million.

The members also slashed Sh1 billion from recurrent expenditure and allocated it to development. The members said the move was aimed at "taming the executive's appetite for recurrent expenditure".

According to Mr Munya, however, other MCAs support him except those nominated on his party's ticket.

"I got the governorship through the party (APK) but if the problems persist I will simply leave and join another one. After all, there are plenty of parties," he said.

APK has not yet made a stand on whether it would join the Jubilee Alliance Party.

Last week, APK leader Kiraitu Murungi cautioned parties affiliated to Jubilee coalition against "blindly" supporting JAP.

Mr Murungi said APK was not in a hurry to join JAP despite having previously agreed to be part of the party when President Uhuru Kenyatta visited Meru in February.

Mr Murungi, who is also the Meru senator, insisted that all parties must be involved at all levels in JAP and that his "bus" has to be "shown the parking" for them to get on board.

President Kenyatta is expected to use JAP for his presidential re-election bid in 2017.

Mr Munya had earlier also threatened to form his own party if APK was swallowed by JAP which he claimed was meant to return the country to a single party political system.