The Deputy President William Ruto is under pressure from both President Uhuru Kenyatta’s side and ODM Leader Raila Odinga’s side for being a ghost worker undermining Jubilee’s administration.
On Monday, Ruto snubbed the Covid-19 conference at KICC. The function was attended by national leaders including the President and ODM chief Raila Odinga.
Politicians allied to the President and Raila dared Ruto to be bold enough and quit over “insubordination.”
They argued the DP’s deliberate decisions to skip key state events amounts to absconding duty as the President’s principal assistant mandated under the Constitution to deputise the head of state.
Over the past six months, Ruto has been conspicuously absent during major state functions presided over by the President.
National Assembly Security Committee chairperson and Kiambaa MP Paul Koinange warned Ruto to put national interest first.
“The country should always come first. My plea to the DP is simple. If you fundamentally disagree with government policies just ship out,” Koinange said.
Kitutu Chache South MP Richard Onyonka said it would not be tenable for the DP to continue serving in a government which he doesn’t care about and is uncomfortable with.
He said if the DP was invited and failed to attend, then the matter amounted to “high-level insubordination.”
“It is clear the marriage is irreversibly broken down. The DP must decide whether he will walk out or stay on with the situation likely to deteriorate and become cantankerous,” Onyonka said.
On April 9, the DP addressed the Covid-19 pandemic from his Karen residence, a move that sparked a political storm after senior government officials kept off the brief.
Since then, he has stayed away from the President’s national addresses on the pandemic while his participation in the National Security Council has been doubtful.
In July, Ruto skipped a virtual meeting the President held with all CSs, PSs and CASs.
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He was also out of action on September 15 when Uhuru and Raila hosted the Senate leadership at State House over the revenue-sharing formula stalemate.
The last time Uhuru shared a podium with his deputy was on September 10 during a brief Cabinet meeting in State House before he flew out for rallies in Kisii.
However, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, a Ruto ally, insisted that the DP had not been invited to the Covid-19 conference.
Nyoro alleged a plot by political mandarins whom he said deliberately sidelined the DP from state events but place his chair next to the President’s to show that he skips functions.
“That’s exactly what they did when senators were invited to State House. They put a chair with his name next to the President’s to show Kenyans that he is the one who failed to attend yet he had not been informed,” he claimed.
“I can confirm nobody had invited the Deputy President to yesterday’s event. Let them show us proof that the Deputy President was aware of the event.”
The DP’s seat had been placed next to the President’s and a programme circulated indicated that he was supposed to invite Uhuru to make his address.
