Lawyer Lumateti Muchai is holding the political axe of Five Jubilee nominated Senators who are set to be axed out by the Ruling party’s Disciplinary committee.
Five politicians who narrowly missed out on Jubilee nominations to the Senate have their figures crossed waiting the axe to fall.
Jubilee sent show-cause letters to nominated senators Millicent Omanga, Falhada Iman, Jillo Waqo, Victor Prengei and Mary Seneta.
They are accused of snubbing President Uhuru Kenyatta’s meeting at State House last Monday that led to the removal of Senators Kipchumba Murkomen (Elgeyo Marakwet) and Susana Kihika (Nakuru) as Majority Leader and Whip respectively.
According to the law, Jubilee will not be required to submit fresh names to replace them but will use the party list submitted to IEBC before the last polls.
According to the list, the next nominees in line are Caroline Daudi, Jelagat Kamuren and Beatrice Gambo who are all listed as businesswomen.
Others are former Jubilee vice chair (strategy) Veronica Maina and Wambui Nyutu, a member of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission.
During the 2017 election, in the Senate Jubilee gave a list of 20 names – 16 women, two persons with disability (one male and one female) and two youths (one male and one female).
On Sunday, Jubilee secretary general Raphael Tuju told off the embattled senators relaying their apologies through the media to instead face the disciplinary team.
“All explanation they are giving to the media is not useful. Once cases have gone to the disciplinary committee, that process is very methodical,” Tuju said.
The law allows IEBC to re-allocate a seat belonging to an expelled legislator to the next person of the same gender on the party list.
Senator Isaac Mwaura affirmed that nominated legislators owed their allegiance purely to the party leader.
“Nominated legislators are a property of the party. You have a very limited and little option if any to do things the way you want to,” he explained.
Mwaura, a nominated senator, added that legislators not picked at the ballot are required to be completely loyal to the party leader.
“This is why those who did not attend the State House meeting are writing letters to explain their absence. You will be seeing more of that. That is why I am coming up with the Party Primaries Bill, which will guide how parties pick their candidates in an election. The Jubilee nomination in Ruiru was shambolic and I was injured during the exercise. We don’t have mature politics in Kenya and that is why you see me dressing in party regalia; not because they are very comfortable but because I have to,” Mwaura said.
Mwaura noted that nominated legislators have to toe the party line more so because their removal is easy when compared to ousting of an elected MP.
Deputy President William Ruto could be surviving on borrowed time in government — and his survival within Jubilee Party in now in doubt.
At the moment, the Ruto camp is on tenterhooks after President Uhuru Kenyatta took over the shaping and running of the party in a calculated move to push his deputy’s supporters into a political lockdown.
Senate Minority Leader James Orengo let the cat out of the bag last week when he said they had finalized plans to force the DP out of Government.
“I want to tell Tangatanga that if you think we in ODM want to join government, that is your problem. You will leave, even if we join government or not. We have planned it; you will leave,” Mr Orengo said.
In the grand scheme, the current Opposition, led by ODM’s Raila Odinga, Gideon Moi (Kanu), Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper) and others, will first join or work with President Kenyatta’s government ahead of 2022 and as part of Kenyatta’s succession plan.
Within this plan is the support of the planned referendum, which is fronted as part of the changes championed by the Building Bridges Initiative.
