Today, Irungu Kang’ata, the Senate Majority Whip, filed a motion to remove Senator Kithure Kindiki from his position as Senate Deputy Speaker.
“I beg to move that the Senate resolves that Senator Kithure Kindiki be removed from the office of the Deputy Speaker,” the notice read in part.
Talk had been rife that Kindiki, an ally of Deputy President William Ruto, was next on the chopping block as internal wrangles continued to rock the Jubilee Party.
The rift between the faction supporting Ruto and that supporting President Uhuru Kenyatta had culminated in the removal of Ruto allies in leadership positions in Parliament.
Kang’ata formally took over as Majority Whip on May 12, when former Majority Whip Susan Kihika and former Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen, both allies of the Deputy President, were removed from their positions.
The shakeup followed a Jubilee Senate Parliamentary Group (PG) meeting at State House, Nairobi on Monday, May 11 where the changes were approved.
Kindiki was among leaders allied to the DP who failed to attend the meeting which also had members from the Kenya African National Union (KANU) in attendance.
KANU legislators attended the meeting after a post-election coalition agreement was signed between Jubilee and KANU, and deposited at the Registrar of Political Parties on May 4.
If the motion to remove Kindiki sails through, it will be yet another blow to the Deputy President’s camp which seems to be under relentless fire.
With Ruto angling to inherit the Central Kenya support base from President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kindiki had been mentioned as a potential running mate for Ruto in his planned 2022 Presidential bid.
It was argued by some pundits that Kindiki would help secure votes from parts of Mount Kenya including Embu, Meru and Tharaka Nithi.
If comments from Jubilee Party Vice-Chairman David Murathe are anything to go by, the purge on allies of the Deputy President is far from over, with the National Assembly expected to be the next stop.
Murathe sought to justify the purge arguing that it was impossible to achieve development objectives with leaders in the President’s party not aligned with his vision.
Those potentially facing removal in the National Assembly include Majority Whip Benjamin Washiali and Majority Leader Aden Duale.
