DP William Ruto steps in to quell unease within URP as sections mull punishing Isaac Ruto

NAIROBI, KENYA: Deputy President William Ruto reportedly hosted United Republican Party (URP) supporters from Rift Valley in a meeting in Nairobi at which he asked party members not to rock the Jubilee government.

But as the DP sought to calm the tide in his party, URP national officials failed to persuade the Nandi County leadership to drop the referendum push during a meeting in Kapsabet Wednesday.

And the party also adopted a hard-line position on Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto with officials saying a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting would be convened on Tuesday to consider sanctions against him.

But Ruto, also the Council of Governors (CoG) chairman, dismissed the planned disciplinary meeting, saying URP had no legitimate NEC members as the party was yet to conduct elections.

The Standard established that the DP met over 70 supporters considered influential at the grassroots at Weston Hotel along Langa'ata Road on Tuesday in a morning meeting.

Ruto is said to have asked the supporters, a majority of who are popular callers to vernacular radio stations in the region, to remain steadfast and continue to support the party.

"Please shun the governors pushing for Pesa Mashinani. They have other agenda than the referendum push. We are in Jubilee and we cannot start to make noise now that the Government belongs to us. We need to work closely," one of the participants who spoke to The Standard quoted Ruto as telling them.

Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi reportedly attended the meeting. One of the supporters is said to have told the DP that they were feeling neglected in the region because those in Government were not helping them much.

But Wednesday, the DP's Director of Communications David Mugonyi said he was not aware of the meeting which came a day after an ugly incident at the Mara University in Narok where Majority Leader Aden Duale was involved in an altercation with Governor Ruto.

DISTANCED HIMSELF

Wednesday, Governor Ruto kept up the push for a referendum and dismissed the planned disciplinary action against him by his party.

URP Secretary General Fred Muteti had said the party would on Tuesday convene a NEC meeting to discuss sanctions against the Bomet chief and Narok Deputy Governor Evalyn Aruasa over their unrelenting Pesa Mashinani campaign.

"The meeting will decide the fate of the two leaders who have openly defied the position taken by the party on the ongoing referendum debate. We might be forced to invoke the Political Parties Act because the two have been supporting ideologies of other parties," Muteti told The Standard Wednesday.

He said Ruto had defied verbal warnings from the party's leadership.

"The Narok deputy governor will also be summoned next week to explain why she insists on following the Bomet governor while her boss has distanced himself from the Council of Governor's Pesa Mashinani campaigns," Muteti added.

But Governor Ruto shot back: "As far as we are concerned, the URP NEC members are elected leaders. Elections have not been held since the last General Election. The question we are asking and which is valid is, who are the current NEC members? It is only the party's National Governing Council that should meet to address the issues affecting the party and its members."

The Bomet leader said the party's top brass should learn to embrace the true tenets of democracy. "They can convene the so-called NEC meeting but for me the only body that should meet is the governing council because there are many issues that need to be addressed," he said.

A defiant governor said URP had never met to take a position on the referendum sponsored by the CoG under the Pesa Mashinani initiative that has caused a rift in the region.

"I will not be intimidated into backing down on the push for a referendum as long as the National Government has not enacted legislation to increase resources allocated to the counties. We promised people that we will embrace devolution and channel more funds for development and we shall do just that," the governor said.

"Jubilee's leadership should not forget that they will soon go back to the people to seek fresh mandate. We will be held to account on our pre-election pledges," he said.

The party recently summoned nominated Members of County Assembly (MCAs) and told them to toe the line.

But the party was yet to take a hardline position on Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony and his Nandi counterpart Cleophas Lagat who, too, have backed the referendum campaigns. Muteti said URP's top leadership was in talks with the two.

NO CONCLUSION

"They have generally shown indications that they will back down on the referendum agenda because even the people they represent have made it difficult for them to campaign in their respective counties," claimed Muteti.

Apparently, it is in line with this soft approach that URP officials sought out the Nandi leaders for talks Wednesday.

However, the meeting attended by URP National Executive Officer David Koech flopped after the deputy governor Dominic Chepyagan and MCAs present refused to budge from their position.

The meeting ended prematurely after the teams opposed to the referendum led by Koech, Nandi Senator Stephen Sang and MPs Kirwa Bitok (Mosop) and woman representative Zipporah Kering failed to convince the pro-referendum side to abandon their position.

After the meeting, at the branch office in Kapsabet, the DP's allies left in a huff and party officials are said to have fixed yet another meeting for Monday.

The split among supporters played out with the rival groups displaying placards as they awaited the leaders' verdict outside the party's office.

"We have had a day-long meeting of leaders, but we have not reached a conclusion. We have resolved to have another meeting next Monday to facilitate further consultations," said Sammy Choge, the branch chairman.

Governor Lagat did not attend the meeting, but Choge said the leader was absent with an apology.

"All leaders will attend another meeting on Monday," said Choge.