Ichung’wa explains why he refused Ruto's order to unblock Uhuru's number

In an interview with Enock Sikolia released on August 9, Ichung’wa said that Kenyatta had called him on several occasions, accusing him of betraying his government, which later escalated to accusations of sabotaging his Big 4 Agenda.

The Kikuyu MP said that the rift between them started shortly after the 2017 elections and got to a point where they exchanged words before ultimately blocking his number.

National Assembly majority leader Kimani Ichung'wa Pulse Live Kenya

2018 phone call

In one of the lengthy phone calls, the former head of state accused Ichung’wa of implicating his brother Muhoho in a scandal regarding the importation of harmful sugar.

In his defence, the legislator told Uhuru that someone had conspired to mislead him and that the remarks Ichung’wa was accused of were propaganda.

Kimani then challenged the then-president to use all institutions under his command to find out the truth of the matter. The MP managed to convince Uhuru that the allegations were false but soon after another accusation was raised.

“When he got convinced, he changed tangent and said you know my problem with you people, your 2022 ambitions have taken over and you have forgotten my agenda,” Ichung’wa recalled.

The MP answered that he had no ambitions to ascend to power and did not want to be Ruto’s deputy as was alleged by Kenyatta’s aides.

President Uhuru Kenyatta using a mobile phone Pulse Live Kenya

“Let me tell you Excellency I have no other ambition besides being Member of Parliament for Kikuyu. I do not want to be Williams's deputy, I do not want to be governor of Kiambu, I do not want to be a CS. I am happy to serve as a Member of Parliament for Kikuyu constituency for the time the almighty God will grant me that opportunity. When I said that, he became livid again,” he narrated.

According to Ichung’wa, his mention of Ruto angered the former president who gave him a tongue lashing during the phone call.

The MP reiterated his support for the Big 4 agenda and also defended his relationship with Ruto and the conversation ended.

Blocking Uhuru Kenyatta

The next time Kenyatta would call Ichung’wa on the phone was in 2019, when there was an impasse between the Executive and Parliament over budgetary allocations and the former head of state accused him of sabotaging the Universal Health Care agenda.

“So he happened one day to call me at night at about 11:30 PM and I could tell the state he was in at that hour and he was livid,” Kimani recalled.

The former NA Budget Committee chair took another tongue-lashing from the former head of state, after which he offered to resign instead of being intimidated.

Uhuru then gave him the chance to explain why Parliament would not allow the allocation of resources to the program.

“I told the president, I have no way to reverse a House resolution even as budget chair. Even the speaker can't. Only the House can reverse its own decision or ask your Cabinet to comply with the House resolution. Your Excellency, they are not telling you that and here you are shouting at me insulting me threatening me.

“That's the night he (Uhuru) told me he will crush me and he will finish me. In my own stupidity, I told him, Your Excellency, please don't threaten me. I could hear him banging the table and he told me, I am not threatening you I am telling you,” Ichung’wa narrated.

He added that Kenyatta continued with his rant until Ichung’wa informed him that he would block his line and further communication between them would have to be through Aden Duale, who was the majority leader at the time.

Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale Pulse Live Kenya

When the threats continued, Ichung’wa disconnected the call and Uhuru had to call again.

“I disconnected the line, he called again. I told him Your Excellency, I said you are threatening me and I am blocking you now. I disconnected that line, I blocked that line that was the last time I spoke to Uhuru Kenyatta,” Kimani recalled.

The following day, Duale called Ichung’wa wondering what Ichung'wa had done to anger Kenyatta so much that he was fuming with rage.

Duale asked to meet Ichung’wa in his office where the Kikuyu MP explained what had transpired the previous night.

After the meeting, Aden would then report the matter to Ruto who also called Ichung’wa for a meeting to understand what was going on.

“The day when I blocked the president, the following day the deputy president called me. Duale reported me, and even reported that I had blocked the president. The deputy president called me to his office. I narrated to him what happened and I wasn't happy the president was calling me to threaten me and I lost it. I had to give him a piece of my mind

“He (Ruto) asked me kichwa yako nu mzuri, you blocked the president? Unblock him!” Ichungwa recalled his conversation with Ruto.

The MP had to explained that he could not unblock Kenyatta’s number, adding that there was a plot to remove his as budget chair and thus did not need to communicate with the then-head of state.