Politicians allied to DP Ruto have called for a General meeting, with an aim of toppling Tuju from his position/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 14 – Squabbles revolving around Jubilee Party Secretary-General Raphael Tuju are far from over after afresh storm was stirred by its deputy leader William Ruto.
The Deputy President, in a controversial tweet on Sunday, accused Tuju of becoming a chief strategist for the opposition.
In a statement full of satire, the DP pointed out that Kenya’s democracy was so liberal that Tuju is now a strategist for the opposition, despite being in the ruling party.
“So, our democracy is so liberal that the SG of the ruling party has become the chief strategist of the opposition!! Maajabu,” reads the tweet directed to Tuju, who is also a Cabinet Secretary without a portfolio.
Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria, was quick to reply to Ruto the DP through Facebook, saying, “Dear my good friend Deputy President William Ruto. Jubilee went into political bankruptcy on the 9th of March 2018. The nature and configuration of Kenya’s politics forced us into Article 11 Bankruptcy. Raphael Tuju is only a Receiver-Manager. Don’t attack the messenger please.”
Tuju on his part said, “It is my position that I am committed to supporting President Uhuru Kenyatta’s efforts to unite the country through bold steps like the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), the handshake, the fight against corruption and the Big 4 agenda.”
Tuju has been on the receiving end for allegedly leading a faction of the party to oppose the Deputy President, who has expressed interest for the presidency in 2022.
Politicians allied to DP Ruto have called for a meeting, with an aim of toppling Tuju from his position.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is also the Jubilee Party leader has given the in-house wrangles a wide berth, though he has been categorical that leaders should focus on serving Kenyans, instead of engaging in what he terms as petty politics.
The ruling party has been unstable as factions form, ahead of 2022 elections.
Some leaders are still leaning towards President Kenyatta, who is serving his last term, but another group has pledged their allegiance to the Deputy President.
Early this year, David Murathe, a fierce critic of DP Ruto resigned as Jubilee Part vice chairperson.
This was after weeks of engaging in a war of words against the Deputy President, whom he said is not fit to succeed President Kenyatta.
He even vowed to block Ruto’s 2022 presidential bid in court but since then, he has done little to put his words to practice.
“I now find that it is no longer tenable to stay on as the party vice-chairman, given that I will have to sit in the same National Executive Council with a man I am taking to court to block from running for president,” he said on January 6, during a press conference to announce his resignation.
The Party also went into a spin after the March 13 handshake between President Kenyatta and his then political arch-rival Raila Odinga-who is the Orange Democratic Movement party leader after a pro-longed electioneering period, that threatened to break the country’s unity and left tens of Kenyans dead.
While the handshake was largely welcomed, a section of Jubilee leaders remains unsettled and have accused Odinga of dividing the Jubilee Party.
DP Ruto is on record cautioning Odinga against attempts of creating divisions among Jubilee leaders.
About The Author
