Keter revives bid to oust Waiguru over NYS scam

Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter has revived his attempt to kick out Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru after reportedly getting the backing of enough lawmakers.

Mr Keter announced Thursday that he had garnered the support of 10 more MPs and had taken the Motion back to National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi for approval with 90 signatures.

“I am back on course. They tried intimidating me, but failed. They tried blackmailing me, but failed. They tried bribing members. They succeeded with some but here I am,” he said.

Mr Keter claimed last week that the 17 MPs who withdrew their signatures were bribed.

The Speaker told him that he had failed to meet the threshold for the Motion to be considered.

With Mr Muturi ruling last week that an MP who appends a signature to a Motion cannot withdraw it, Mr Keter is now guaranteed consideration by the Speaker.

But the failure by Mr Muturi to say whether he had approved it or not means Mr Keter will have to wait for at least a week as the National Assembly goes on a scheduled 10-day recess.

Last week, Mr Keter attributed the withdrawal of signatures by some MPs to pressure from the Jubilee coalition.

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There were reports that Deputy President William Ruto personally prevailed upon lawmakers from his United Republican Party to withdraw their support.

The revival of the Motion comes in the wake of a reported meeting at State House two weeks ago that was attended by Jubilee MPs, who are said to have told President Uhuru Kenyatta they wanted Ms Waiguru dealt with.

Among the proposals placed on the table at the State House meeting was to have Ms Waiguru transferred from the Devolution docket, forced to step aside to make way for investigations or sacked altogether.

A Jubilee MP told the Nation last evening that there was a growing sense within the group that too much energy had been spent defending Ms Waiguru amid revelations of the impropriety that took place at the National Youth Service.

Ms Waiguru has been one of the most visible ministers in the Jubilee coalition, with the transformation of the youth service and the emerging scandal there becoming a major dent on the alliance’s image.

More than Sh790 million is reported to have been lost and details of the directors of the firms involved are said to have gone missing.

Mr Keter said he had increased the number of allegations against the CS to include her handling of the resettlement of internally displaced persons, and impropriety in the construction of Huduma centres.