Former MPs clash with William Ruto allies
ODM leader Raila Odinga (centre) emerges from a lunch meeting with former Mt Kenya MPs at Radisson Blu hotel in Nairobi. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
The former MPs demanded that the president must be allowed to deliver on the Big Four Agenda and the fight against corruption.
They reprimanded leaders allied to Mr Ruto for ‘politicizing’ the fight against corruption.
A host of former Mount Kenya legislators have said they will not allow President Uhuru Kenyatta to be blackmailed by section of Jubilee leaders.
In a veiled onslaught on Deputy President William Ruto, the former MPs who spoke after meeting opposition leader Raila Odinga railed at Jubilee politicians who they said were obsessed with the 2022 succession politics.
Led by former Maragua MP Jamleck Kamau, the former MPs demanded that the president must be allowed to deliver on the Big Four Agenda and the fight against corruption.
They reprimanded leaders allied to Mr Ruto for ‘politicizing’ the fight against corruption.
BUILDING BRIDGES
The group which also included former Mukurweni MP Kabando wa Kabando, ex Tetu MP Ndung’u Githinji and former Senate Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura claimed continued 2022 rallies are aimed at undermining the Building Bridges initiative.
The leaders said the ‘handshake’ between the president and the former prime minister is unstoppable and those opposing it are merely wasting their time.
“We invited Raila for lunch and he briefed us about the Building Bridges initiative. We assured him of our support for the handshake to build bridges for a new Kenya,” said Mr Kabando.
Mr. Odinga however refused to address the media.
Mr Kabando who spoke on behalf of the ex-MPs after three-hour meeting with the opposition leader, urged President Kenyatta to crack the whip on every individual involved in corruption, even those close to him.
FIGHT CORRUPTION
“We want the president to be merciless on the fight against corruption and to stay the course with Raila Odinga,” said Mr Kabando.
Mr Githinji said those fighting the proposed lifestyle audits are undermining President Kenyatta’s fight against graft and should be stopped.
“Those who are against the lifestyle audits know what they are hiding and they should know that the process is unstoppable whether they like it or not,” said Githinji.
Political allies of Deputy President led by Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen have been on record dismissing the president's directive on lifestyle audits for all civil servants, claiming that it lacks legal backing.
