- President Ruto needs more MPs in Parliament to help him pass constitutional amendments
By The Weekly Vision
An elaborate and well-planned scheme to lure more opposition MPs into joining President William Ruto’s ruling Kenya Kwanza Coalition has been hatched and is at an advanced stage. According to well-placed sources, the President wants more MPs in parliament to enable him to pass constitutional amendments; he needs 233 MPs to achieve his intended goals.
Already several opposition MPs have dumped the Azimio Coalition and are working with the President’s administration despite stiff opposition from the Azimio leadership. The Weekly Vision has information that several MPs allied to the opposition mainly from Western Kenya have been lured to dump Azimio leader Raila Odinga. The game plan, sources say is to sell the propaganda that Raila Odinga’s political maneuvers have hit a dead end and that Azimio will soon disintegrate.
The sources add that several opposition MPs have bought the theory and are ready to shift allegiance from Raila Odinga to William Ruto. Investigations also reveal that most of the targeted MPs were initially in Kenya Kwanza before jumping ship to Azimio before the last elections for the sake of winning in ODM-leaning regions. Such MPs are being lured back to Kenya Kwanza with huge promises that their constituencies would be taken care of in terms of development and the sharing of the national cake.
Another group of MPs being targeted are ODM MPs who felt frustrated during the party’s nominations, those who are not happy with committee placements as well as those disgruntled by the opposition coalition’s leadership. Sources say President Ruto’s inner circle has been holding secret meetings with the MPs and a major announcement is expected soon.
It is imperative to note that ever since President Ruto took over the reins of power, all his bills in both the N/A and Senate have sailed through despite the opposition’s attempts to vote against them. The ruling coalition has a controlling majority in both houses and any bill that requires a simple majority have always passed through. The President is now said to be working on commanding a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution.
