Seth Onyango and Anthony Mwangi @PeopleDailyKe
Deputy President William Ruto could find himself in an awkward position with strong indications that the letter at the centre of assassination claims against him could most likely be fake.
Detectives and senior government officials believe that the letter purportedly written by a Cabinet Secretary to the President was part of political schemes and misinformation campaign whose ultimate aim was to draw sympathy.
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“Nobody writes letters directly to the President, certainly no minister would write such a letter,” a senior State official told People Daily, explaining that correspondence to the Head of State is done through the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua. The latter would then forward those that the President should see for direction.
Most of the time, the interaction between the President and ministers is at Cabinet meetings, phone calls or appointments for one-on-one meetings. CSs are routinely summoned to State House for consultations with the Head of State, the source said.
Expectations that Ruto and the four CSs he has accused of convening talks to discuss his elimination could come face-to-face yesterday, fizzled out when it turned out that there was no Cabinet meeting. Sources at State House said none had been scheduled.
Sources within the government now say that the onus is now on Ruto to prove the assassination plot as well as the authenticity of the letter that has been widely circulated in social media.
Government sources intimated that Ruto risked losing his clout in the government, especially with Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, his Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho and Kinyua increasingly taking charge of State operations.
“It will be interesting how he will come out of this mess. The recent visit by the President to his Uasin Gishu turf was a perfect opportunity for him to get back into the fold, but the assassination claims seem to have turned the tables on him again,” said the source that cannot be quoted due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Yesterday, the DP avoided commenting on the assassination claim when he addressed journalists at his Karen office.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji joined the fray when he said his office and that of the Director of Criminal Investigations had resolved to engage the services of an independent investigative agency to handle the case to avoid the two agencies being dismissed as biased.
It also emerged that Cabinet Secretaries Joe Mucheru (ICT), Sicily Kariuki (Health) and other leaders from Mt Kenya region, accused of plotting the DP’s assassination, met on Tuesday to continue with their deliberations.
It is a similar meet-up at Hotel La Mada off Thika Road that has become the centre of controversy after claims of the alleged assassination plot were publicised.
Trade CS Peter Munya, who had been implicated alongside his colleagues, confirmed the meeting took place and development issues were discussed.
Speaking from China where he is attending a meeting, the CS said: “My colleagues went on with the meeting in my absence as I am away in China but I gave my apologies.”
Uhuru directive
He added: “I was briefed on the progress of the Tuesday meeting. I also want to assure Kenyans that the meetings whose main agenda is to discuss development in Mt Kenya region will continue because this is a directive by the President which must be adhered to until such a time he himself advises us otherwise.”
Public Service, Youth and Gender CS Margret Kobia is yet to attend the meetings and it has not been made clear why she has been giving them a wide berth.
“I can confirm that she has not been attending, but I cannot say whether she has been invited or not,” said a source close to the CS.
It is not clear where the Tuesday meeting took place.
Questions now abound on how the Cabinet ― the main decision-making unit of the Executive, will execute government business when its second most senior member is at loggerheads with some members.
It also emerged that since the appointment of Matiang’i to chair meetings of fellow ministers, the DP has been out of the loop on major government programmes.
“It is upon him to decide how he wants to bring himself back to become an effective deputy,” a source in the government said.
The source said the current controversy had not affected government operations and Matiang’i continues to chair Cabinet meetings every Tuesday and reports the outcome to Uhuru.
Last evening, government spokesman Colonel (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna declined to be drawn into the matter, insisting that “Cabinet affairs are the President’s prerogative and only him can decide when to convene the meetings.”
Former vice president Musalia Mudavadi warned the standoff risked stalling government functions since the Cabinet operates as a unitary actor.
Mudavadi termed the tiff between Ruto and the three cabinet secretaries unfortunate.
“This is unprecedented. We are seeing a situation where trust has turned into animosity. In such circumstances, the Cabinet can no longer give the image that its members are speaking in one voice,” he said.
Bad joke
Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia dismissed Ruto’s allegations as deadly propaganda that causes anxiety while inflaming the public.
“It is a bad joke and they themselves know it is propaganda. They should not have used it,” he told People Dailyon phone.
Political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi warned against similar talks tweeting: “The country is going down a reckless path. Pray it does not acquire a life of its own, Ruto.”
Kimemia, a career civil servant who served as Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet said Ruto should have exploited internal State channels to address his concerns.
But economist David Ndii hailed Ruto’s move, saying it had earned him political capital.
“The pitfalls of relying on deep State to do your politics. Politics is about mobilisation and spooks cannot address political rallies. All it took is one prank to scuttle Uhuru’s hare-brained plan to deploy government to do his politics. Tanga Tanga 3 – Kieleweke 0,” he tweeted.
Uttering such alarmist remarks someone is trying to arm-twist the President into overhauling the Cabinet or whether it is a diversionary tactic meant to re-direct the President’s attention from his sustained war on corruption,” Mudavadi said.
“What is happening is uncalled for, unwarranted and a move in the wrong direction. The President must move very fast and restore sanity in his dysfunctional government.
The level of recklessness, impunity and disorganisation we are witnessing does not augur well for the country social, economic and political stability. This is a very dangerous trend which must be arrested immediately,” he said.
