Kimani Ichung’wah the Kikuyu MP revealed details of a past phone call he had with President Uhuru Kenyatta as he clashed with Muranga Woman Representative Sabina Chege on Citizen TV.
Ichung’wah, an ally of Deputy President William Ruto, faced off with Chege as he opposed the removal of legislators affiliated with the DP from key leadership positions in Parliament.
Chege reminded Ichung’wah that his support for Uhuru’s candidature in 2017 was partly responsible for his win in the polls, questioning why they would turn on the President.
In response, Ichung’wah revealed details of a phone call on which he pledged loyalty to Uhuru, even as he called for an expansion of the democratic space to allow divergent views.
“Sabina Chege has asked a question, whether I am still Uhuru’s jeshi (army). In 2018, I was fortunate to have a telephone conversation with the President and I’m sorry to say this on air.
“But I did promise the President that, as I promised him in 2013, I will never betray President Uhuru Kenyatta in terms of his agenda for the nation, for uniting Kenya, bringing prosperity to our country and moving this country forward.
“As to whether I will agree 100% with President Uhuru Kenyatta on certain things, that is debatable. I may not necessarily agree, and I would expect that President Uhuru Kenyatta would be democratic and kind enough to allow me to have a divergent view,” he stated.
Ichung’wah argued that the break-up in the party could have been stopped from boiling over if they held regular Parliamentary Group meetings.
The last Jubilee Senate Parliamentary Group Meeting was held at State House, Nairobi on Monday, May 11 and saw Senators resolve to remove Kipchumba Murkomen and Susan Kihika, allies of the DP, from their positions as Senate Majority Leader and Majority Whip respectively.
Prior to that, the last full Jubilee Parliamentary Group meeting was held in 2017 after Uhuru secured a second term, with the party settling on individuals to occupy leadership positions in Parliament including chairing committees.
Ichung’wah was echoing sentiments of Ruto allies who, over the past two years, have reiterated calls for Uhuru to convene Parliamentary Group meetings to resolve the wrangles in Jubilee.
“He (Uhuru) said it in the last meeting we had in September 2017, that we will have regular PG meetings so that if I have a divergent opinion I am given an opportunity to air that divergent opinion.
“Be it on the handshake or any other question that I have a different opinion, I should be able to engage with my party leader and my party membership, and be able to be convinced and persuaded by other leaders that this is the right position if I had a divergent view. So that when I go out there, I go and espouse the party position.
“I think we have failed in that respect, we have not been given that opportunity to engage. And so when I speak out and I say this is what I think, no one should construe that to be disrespect to the President.
“No one should misconstrue that to be against my party position because the party has not even had a sitting to be able to let me know and other members what the party position is,” he stated.
Chege called for the Tanga Tanga faction of the Jubilee Party to support the president, stating that criticism could also be delivered with respect.
Referencing Ruto’s alleged early campaigns, Chege used an analogy of a man who couldn’t wait to inherit his brother’s wife even before he died.
“I would plead with Ichung’wah and all of us, that we need to fully support the government. I think we only have one more budget to pass. Let us first shelve other interests,” she asserted.
