How DP William Ruto's team frustrated Raila, Uhuru allies to get Senator Ledama elected

How Ruto's team frustrated Raila, Uhuru allies to get Senator Ledama elected

Tony Mukere

May 6, 2020 9:50 AM

Secret plan that was only revealed at the last minute

How DP William Ruto's team frustrated Raila, Uhuru allies to get Senator Ledama elected

Details have emerged of a secret plan by Deputy President William Ruto's allies in the Senate that led to the election of firebrand ODM Senator Ledama Ole Kina to the powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The nine member committee has five members from Jubilee and four from the minority NASA - although the chairmanship position is reserved for the Opposition.

The Ruto camp was aware that the ODM had wanted to have Kisii Senator Sammy Ongeri take over the chairmanship from Homa Bay's Moses Kajwang whose helm ended in December 2019.

To their benefit, Jubilee's five members were dominantly pro-Ruto (3 out of 5) which meant they needed to get two extra votes to overturn the leadership plan envisaged by party leaders Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Senators Mithika Linturi (Meru), Hargura Godana (Marsabit), and Millicent Omanga (nominated) are card-carrying members of the Tanga Tanga while Kiambu's Kimani Wamatangi leans on the Kenyatta side.

Murang'a Senator Irungu Kang'ata is an ardent Kenyatta supporter and was ready to side with the four senators from ODM - Kajwang', Migori's Achillo Ayacko, Ongeri, and Ole Kina.

In a genius political strategy, the Ruto team offered to support Senator Ayacko but the Migori Senator did not want to offended the party plan which was to have Ongeri as Chairman and Kangata as Vice Chairman.

When Ayacko declined, Ole Kina was promised the cookie which promised too good to obey the party leader's directive.

Ole Kina was promised the support of the Jubilee side on condition that he would also support Wamatangi for the Vice Chairman position and who in turn was required to support his Narok counterpart.

The net effect was that Wamatangi crossed ranks to the Ruto team in exchange for the Vice Chairman position while Ole Kina agreed to vote with the Tanga Tanga squad on promise he would be PAC Chairman.

The election strategy only became clear when the Senators met to vote with both Wamatangi and Ole Kina taking the powerful seats that overturned the plan set in place by the Kenyatta-Odinga team.

The elections, however, are unlikely to hold for long after Senate Minority Leader James Orengo wrote to the speaker announcing the Opposition would withdraw membership to the committee owing to the manner in which elections were held.

Tony Mukere