President Uhuru Kenyatta summons Jubilee governors for meeting amid rising discord

Commission for Implementation of the Constitution chairperson Charles Nyachae (right) with participants at the governors and senators conference in Mombasa at the weekend. [Photo: Omondi Onyango/Standard]

By Geoffrey Mosoku and Boniface Gikandi

Nairobi, Kenya: President Kenyatta has summoned 23 governors allied to the ruling coalition to a crisis meeting Monday amid internal discord and opposition-backed calls for a referendum.

Deputy President William Ruto will Monday morning host the governors allied to Jubilee at his official residence in Karen, Nairobi, against the backdrop of a growing revolt over the government’s handling of devolution.

Outspoken Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto, whose stand on devolution has become a lightning rod for Jubilee criticism, confirmed that he would attend the meeting. However, the chairman of the Council of Governors vowed to stand his ground and warned his Jubilee colleagues against intimidation.

Asked whether he expected a dressing down from the Deputy President, Ruto added: “He will be inviting trouble and no amount of sycophancy unleashed by MPs will cow us from this position.”

Governors and Senators from across the political divide have recently vowed to press on with nationwide rallies to push for a referendum to amend the Constitution to raise to 40 per cent financial allocations to counties. These currently stand at 15 per cent.

Jubilee operatives have voiced fears that charged political rallies could provide a platform to stir anti-Government sentiments in the early days of the Kenyatta’s regime.

Monday’s meeting also comes at a time when former Prime Minister Raila Odinga is leading 12 Governors allied to the opposition CORD on a conference tour in Dallas, United States.

Election pledges

Kiambu’s William Kabogo confirmed he would attend Monday’s meeting and yet another governor interviewed described the agenda as the implementation of the Jubilee manifesto. “We have been called to a meeting in Nairobi where issues touching on support for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Government and also implementation of the Jubilee’s election pledges at the county level will be discussed,” said the governor.

But the agenda is likely to extend well beyond that if recent events are anything to go by.

Last week 40 URP MPs demanded Ruto’s expulsion from the party, accusing him of being hostile to the Government.

Sunday, a defiant Ruto warned Monday’s meeting should not be turned into a platform to hit at him, warning that such action would backfire.

Ruto, who is allied to the Deputy President, has become a harsh critic of the Jubilee Administration charging repeatedly that it is undermining the devolution of powers to county governments.

“They have no option but to implement devolution. Convening a Jubilee Governors’ meeting doesn’t change the issues on the table and we will be going there to state so,” Ruto said. Sunday the MPs sustained the attacks with more than 10 MPs and a Senator from the South Rift dismissing the governors’ plans to press for a referendum to have counties allocated 40 per cent of the annual revenue.

Led by Kericho County Senator Charles Keter, the MPs argued that the Jubilee government had allocated 32 per cent of the national revenue to the county governments, much more than the 15 per cent stipulated in the Constitution.

“There was no referendum held when the Jubilee government increased to 32 per cent the share of national revenue to go to the county governments up from the 15 per cent stated in the Constitution,” said Keter. He wondered why the governors led by Governor Ruto were hell bent on subjecting Kenyans to a referendum.

“The Jubilee government is just settling down to work and then some people want us to go to a referendum. The country is simply not ready for a referendum,” said Ainamoi MP Benjamin Langat.

Struggle

CORD leaders have backed the Governors, sparking apprehension in Government that the opposition relishes another round of public rallies to whip up anti-Government emotions.

On Saturday, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka said: “This not about CORD but even Jubilee should support the amendment to have the allocation raised. Since we know that the process will lead to a referendum, CORD leadership will join the Governors and Senators in this struggle,” Kalonzo told The Standard.

Ruto, the Deputy President, is reportedly keen to stem the perception the national Government and the County governments are at war.

On Wednesday, President Kenyatta hosted Senators and Cabinet Secretaries to a session in which he stressed careful management of the devolution process to guard against disruption of service delivery to the people. Governors have given the national Government until August 1 to transfer functions to counties.

The Senate has meanwhile moved to the Supreme Court to contest the President’s assent of the Division of Revenue Bill after the National Assembly ignored the Senate’s input.

Earlier on July 2, President Kenyatta had summoned Jubilee MPs to State House for a Parliamentary Group meeting, at which he rallied the ruling coalition to a common position on the contentious VAT Bill and the then ongoing teachers’ strike.

Political Analyst Mutahi Ngunyi has warned Jubilee about a regrouping CORD led by Raila. “Uhuru/Ruto continue to be casual about Raila. The 2005 Referendum moment for Kibaki, and the 1982 coup moment for Moi, will hit them earlier,” Ngunyi recently posted on his Twitter handle.

Sunday, Ruto, the Bomet Governor, said he would reinforce his view that money meant for counties cannot be held at the national government.