Toe the line or be ready to be impeached, Kimunya tells DP Ruto

Kimunya

Majority Leader in the National Assembly Amos Kimunya (centre) and others leaders of the House yesterday when they praised MPs for passing BBI bill.

Photo credit: Jeff Angote | Nation Media Group

An ecstatic leadership of the National Assembly has threatened Deputy President William Ruto with impeachment proceedings should he maintain his defiance against his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Basking in the glory of the Thursday outcome of the vote on the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the leaders advised the DP to read the changed political mood and toe the line or risk being thrown out through a no confidence motion in the House.

Leader of Majority Amos Kimunya on Friday said that President Kenyatta is fully in-charge of the state affairs of the country and warned the DP that maintaining his hardline stance would work against him.

“We hope that with Thursday’s vote, the question of who has the numbers has been settled forever,” Mr Kimunya said during a press conference yesterday in which the House leadership had called to thank the MPs for endorsing the bill on Thursday.

He was flanked by Jubilee party parliamentary secretary Adan Keynan, Majority Whip Emanuel Wangwe, his deputy Maoka Maore and the Minority Whip Junet Mohamed.

On Thursday Night, MPs voted in support of the bill in which the DP and his supporters have opposed.

Some 302 MPs in the 349-member House took part in the vote that was to conclude debate on the second reading of the Bill.

Of the number, 235 voted to support the bill, 83 opposed while two abstained in a debate that had taken a factional twist pitting Tangatanga and Kieleweke team, which is allied to the President.

Some of the DP supporters, who have been vocal in their opposition to the bill, went against the grain and voted in support, raising questions about the DP’s strength in the House.

At yesterday’s press conference, the leaders thanked the MPs and basked in the glory of the numbers, arguing that the 235 figure is well beyond the two thirds threshold required to amend the constitution through as parliamentary initiative.

Mr Kimunya made reference to by-elections in Machakos, Matungu and Kabuchai, reminding the DP that he had yet to see the fury of the voters in Mt Kenya region

“Those who have been promised wheelbarrows in future must read the mood. The ground is solidly behind the President. We hope their leader has seen the light and will stop defying the President.”

“If he continues with his defiance, these numbers give us the confidence and we could escalate things to the next step (impeachment). We have the numbers.”

Mr Mohamed said the Thursday vote had demystified myths about the popularity of party leaders and the question of who among them has numbers to win the 2022 elections.

“We are merely being magnanimous. These numbers can lead to other things. They can make somebody lose his job as provided for in the constitution. But we don’t want to take that route. We are focusing on peace building,” he said, pointing out that the vote marked the death of Tangatanga.