Four MPs allied to Deputy President William Ruto's United Republican Party (URP) have petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to move Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi from the docket.
This comes just a week after a motion by Matayos MP Geoffrey Odanga to have Prof Kaimenyi sacked failed to get the support of the constitutionally stipulated 117 MPs.
The four legislators Cecilia Ngetich (Bomet), Bernard Bett (Bomet East), Paul Bii (Chepalungu) and Sammy Koech (Konoin) yesterday said they had sent the petition to Leader of Majority Adan Duale for onward transmission to the President.
But Duale rubbished the petition and asked the MPs to concentrate on their mandate which he said does not include advising the President on how to manage his Cabinet.
Mr Duale said he had not received the alleged petition, and would not even entertain it.
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"There is no procedure in law for MPs to petition President on how to deal with his Cabinet. Worse still, that cannot be done through the office of Majority Leader of the National Assembly. The appointment, transfer, dismissal and retention of Cabinet Secretaries are the prerogative of the President," Duale said.
But the four URP MPs vowed to push their bid to its logical conclusion, saying Kaimenyi had proved that he cannot run the Education docket.
"We are not mincing words in our demands that the CS be removed from that office or be shown the door by all means because of his incompetence and gross misconduct," Mr Bett said. He said failure by Kaimenyi to implement the Standard One laptops project was a clear indication he cannot handle the Education docket in the country.
CS ARROGANT
"The laptops project has now been moved to the ministry of ICT, yet it falls under Kaimenyi and it is because he is not competent enough to run the ministry," said the Bomet East MP.
Ms Ngetich, who sits on the National Assembly Education Committee said the removal of Kaimenyi as an Education CS was long overdue.
"The continued stay of Kaimenyi at the helm of the Education docket actually spells doom for the sector and removing him would do the country a favour," she said.
The legislators, who spoke at Chebole Primary School in Sotik constituency during a medical camp, accused the CS of arrogance, which they said had strained relations between him and a number of education stakeholders in the country including the National Assembly and teachers' unions.
But Duale, who led MPs in defeating the motion by Odanga, accused those behind the alleged petition of serving the agenda of Secretary General of Kenya National Union of Teachers Wilson Sossion, who hails from the region.
"We can see where this is coming from, but the President will not be held captive by the likes of Sossion," said Duale. The Garissa Town MP said if the position of those out to have Kaimenyi fired was popular, its proponents should have convinced the House to do so during the censure motion that flopped.
Contacted, Sossion appeared aware of the move by the legislators, adding that it was crucial in salvaging the Education docket.
Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi also supported Duale's position, saying legislators must respect the principle of separation of powers.
