President Uhuru Kenyatta has called for another National Assembly Parliamentary Group meeting on Monday.
In a text message to Jubilee MPs on Saturday, Uhuru said,”Mheshimiwa, I wish to invite you for a Jubilee Coalition National Assembly Parliamentary Group Meeting at Kenyatta International Conference Centre on Monday 22nd June 2020 at 9am. Please be punctual”.
President Kenyatta is also the Jubilee Party leader.
In what seemed to be a response to the invite, Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria posted, “Shenzi! Kumanina! Wajinga! Kama wewe ni mwanaume ongea hapa! Na hauna chochote! These are words we will hear on Monday at the Jubilee PG being said to grandmothers & grandfathers like Hon Kimani Ngunjiri & Hon Jayne Kihara & to 24 year old Hon John Paul Mwirigi in equal measure.”
However, it is expected the agenda of the meeting will be the position of Leader of Majority in the National Assembly held by Garissa Township MP Aden Duale.
Duale, an ally of Deputy President William Ruto, has held the position for seven years now. He was among the founder members of Ruto’s URP after they were fired by Raila Odinga from the Grand Coalition Government.
Even after surviving the Jubilee purge on June 2, a number of legislators affiliated to Kieleweke, a Jubilee faction that supports the President, led by Kieni MP Kanini Kega started collection signatures to remove Duale.
Indications were that Duale would be replaced by Kipipiri MP Amos Kimunya. Duale is said to have survived on the account of his sustained effort in pushing the government’s agenda in the House.
Duale accused Kega of collecting the signatures to use them for extortion.
“He is notoriously known for being the king of extortion who thrives in threats and blackmail. He has perfected the art of extortion so well that all he does is to purport to collect signatures only for him thereafter to solicit for favours from myself and my friends as a bait for withdrawal of signatures,” said Duale, adding that Uhuru’s decision was final.
But with Jubilee signing cooperation agreements with Wiper and CCM parties, the interests seem to have played against Duale’s favour.
On Friday, Jubilee Party Vice Chairman David Murathe, who hinted on the first purge, on Friday said if 130 MPs had signed to express dissatisfaction with a certain leader, then the President has to do something about it.
It is also said that when Uhuru read out the names of new House leadership, he didn’t mention Duale but skipped his name and went on to identify the changes effected.
Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu, a defender of Uhuru, has been adamant that Duale should not continue being the Leader of Majority.
He says Duale does not believe in the BBI, which is a project by Uhuru.
“A few weeks ago National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale publicly stated that President Kenyatta is being deceitful with ODM leader Raila Odinga in the BBI process, and that at an opportune time the President will throw Raila under the bus, to help Ruto. He has never refuted this very serious and baseless allegation,” Ngunjiri said.
He thus said the party cannot have a leader who casts aspersions on the integrity of the President in Parliament.
