As the internal wrangles in Jubilee continue to play out in public, new information has emerged over what transpired hours to the Jubilee Senate Parliamentary Group meeting held on Monday, May 11, that saw the ejection of Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen as the Senate Majority leader.
Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Shollei on Thursday, May 14, alleged that the invitations to the PG were sent late to ensure Senators allied to Deputy President William Ruto would not attend.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, the jubilee legislator faulted party secretary-general Raphael Tuju accusing him of not following protocol for calling a parliamentary group meeting.
“He sent out the invitations to a meeting on SMS a day before and it wasn’t early in the morning but some time around the middle of the day. That wasn’t sufficient time to give notice for a meeting,” she stated.
The Woman Representative further stated that the text message sent out by Tuju did not contain details of the agenda of the meeting – which was the removal of Murkomen as the Majority leader and Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika as the Majority Whip.
She stated that the decision was illegal as she argued that a majority of Senators were not present at the meeting.
“We have 20 senators who are supporting Murkomen and Kihika out of 35. those involved in the decision making were 15, and even then, four of them are questionable,” she conveyed.
Shollei described the move by Tuju commencing the process to expel five nominated senators for apparently snubbing the Jubilee Senate Parliamentary Group meeting as a laughable development.
“He couldn’t draft a letter to inform members of the meeting and now he expects members to write a show-cause letter for failing to attend,” she remarked.
The Jubilee Secretary-General on Wednesday, May 13, announced that the party had kickstarted the process of expelling nominated senators Falhada Dekow, Waqo Naomi Jillo, Prengei Victor, Mary Yiane and Millicent Omanga accusing them of gross insubordination and misconduct.
Omanga addressed the disciplinary action arguing that she was not invited to State House and only came to learn of the changes effected in the Senate through social media.
Shollei further stated that MPs allied to Deputy President William Ruto would not exit the party despite the developments.
“This is not the end of the Jubilee Party. The party is having challenges. You don’t walk out of a party that you built at the first scare. We won’t leave Jubilee, not without a fight. It belongs to members who raised funds and contribute to the party,” she affirmed.
