National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula approved the removal of nominated MP Sabina Chege as Deputy Minority Whip yesterday, with sources telling The Weekly Vision that the deal was arrived at during the Bomas of Kenya talks between Azimio and Kenya Kwanza a while ago.
In his ruling, Speaker Moses Wetangula declared Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje of the Jubilee Party the new Deputy Minority Whip, replacing Sabina Chege. Political analysts add that her removal was long overdue, and according to Azimio, the decision was reached during the National Dialogue Committee, a key condition the coalition had put on the table. Mr Wetangula’s move was well planned and executed; the operation went on without a hitch, with the Speaker warning the warring Jubilee party factions to stop dragging his name into their supremacy battle.
Sabina Chege had sensed danger earlier after word leaked out that Azimio and Kenya Kwanza had agreed to kick her out. She rushed to the court to block her ouster. Kiambu High Court, however, dismissed the case on October 9 after declaring that Sabina had not exhausted all the dispute resolution mechanisms within Azimio.
With two factions in Jubilee, one led by Uhuru Kenyatta as party leader and Jeremiah Kioni as secretary general, and the opposing faction led by Sabina Chege as party leader and Kanini Kega as secretary general, the leadership wrangles are expected to come to an end. Sources say the bipartisan team has agreed to ensure that the leadership row in Jubilee is sorted out and Kenya Kwanza keeps off the affairs and running of the Jubilee Party.
It is not known for now if President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga have agreed on the same, but what is expected is a declaration that the Jubilee Party is a member of the Azimio Coalition and not Kenya Kwanza. Last week, Kanini Kega shocked many during an interview on Inooro radio when he publicly accused President Ruto of lying to Kenyans about the high cost of living and demanded that he apologise to Kenyans.
During the interview, Mr Kega dismissed Ruto’s claims that the Raila-Uhuru handshake and the war in Ukraine have caused the current state of the economy in Kenya. Sources say he is privy to the resolutions of the bipartisan talks that will eventually see him vacate the office of acting SG of the Jubilee Party. He is therefore attempting to pull a fast one on the president by purporting to rebel against Kenya Kwanza, which allegedly facilitated and aided him in the forceful and unconstitutional takeover of the Jubilee Party.
The removal of Chege and the looming declaration that Jubilee is not part of Kenya Kwanza are now being seen as part of the implementation of the bipartisan talks. The illegal takeover or coup that Chege and Kega staged in Jubilee was initially seen as having the backing and support of President Ruto. However, at some point, DP Gachagua took over the whole matter and ensured that he was calling the shots in the Jubilee Party’s faction allied to Chege affairs.
Sources say the president’s initial plan was to take over Jubilee so as to consolidate the Mount Kenya region under Kenya Kwanza. Again, Ruto knew that if Jubilee was allowed to operate, it could be a fallback plan for DP Gachagua in case there was a fallout in the UDA party. There were whispers that the DP had plotted to build, rebrand, finance, and make Jubilee a vibrant party in the Mount Kenya region and use it in 2027 should William Ruto drop him for Musalia Mudavadi.
