Jubilee lawmakers plot for Ngilu's sacking

Suspended Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu (left) with Starehe MP Maina Kamanda (centre) and Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru at Pefa church South B. [Photo: Tabitha Otwori/standard]

Suspended Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu Sunday joined nine Jubilee MPs for a church service in Nairobi amid reports some ruling coalition lawmakers were scheming to have her sacked for allegedly being disrespectful to the President.

Some Jubilee MPs are reportedly pushing for the sacking of Ngilu - who is out of office as she fights charges of obstructing an anti-corruption investigation - citing her recent dalliance with opposition leaders and statements critical of government.

Ngilu appeared to have rubbed a section of Jubilee MPs the wrong way after she defended his long time political nemesis in Ukambani politics, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka over accusations of grabbing public land.

Sources have told The Standard that the group is preparing to present a petition to have the Cabinet Secretary sacked, accusing her of showing divided allegiance to the President.

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale appeared to be in the know about the scheme. Duale told The Standard that he requested those behind the move to follow the proper procedure of petitioning the removal of a Cabinet Secretary.

"There are serious concerns raised by these MPs. They want Ngilu out. However, I requested for more time to agree on the best way to address these concerns," said Duale.

He continued: "They have indicated their intention to petition the President to sack Ngilu but I implored on them to exercise patience."

Duale disclosed that they will have a meeting for Jubilee legislators today to deliberate on the matter and agree on the way forward.

"If the MPs want Ngilu sacked. They must also petition Parliament for her removal and state grounds. These are the issues we are going to canvass on," said Duale.

However, another group of Jubilee leaders vowed to ensure that Ngilu, a key member of the governing administration, assumes her role if she is cleared by the court. During yesterday's church service, the nine MPs who included Senator Beth Mugo (Nominated) and Starehe MP Maina Kamanda vowed to stand in solidarity with the embattled minister to ensure she returns to her docket.

Ngilu also took the opportunity to remind President Uhuru Kenyatta that she was part of the team that drafted the Jubilee manifesto and said she will not be pushed out. The MPs, in turn, offered their support to Ngilu, who was forced to step aside following a graft purge by the President.

"In 2013, we put together an agenda of which I was part. So anybody saying that I am out of government is mistaken. I am in government by right. I have been in government for far too long, and somebody cannot just come and say we want you out," said Ngilu.

The MPs assured her that she would get her seat in Cabinet back. "I have come a long way with Ngilu and we all know the good work she has done. Let nothing dampen your spirit. We are praying that very soon, the court case will be behind us and that you will come back to the Government. All that she has done is stepping aside, she has not been sacked," said Mrs Mugo.

Kamanda said they will stand by Ngilu due to her commitment to support Mr Kenyatta's government.

"We pray for Ngilu so that all these things come to an end. Even the President survived when he was taken to The Hague," said Kamanda at the Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa (PEFA) in South B.

Others at service were Dennis Waweru (Dagoretti South), John Gakuya (Embakasi North and Grace Kiptui (Baringo South), Waihenya Ndirangu (Roysambu) and Njoroge Chege (Kasarani).

The function was also attended by Boniface Otsyula (Bumula, CORD), who also threw his weight behind Ngilu.

"The fight against corruption should not be selective. Mumias Sugar was brought down by corrupt people. That was real corruption. What has Ngilu done? She was only straightening up things in government. As for Ngilu, most of the time when she has appeared before the National Assembly Justice committees in which I am a member, she has been steady and straight. We want to see her inside government," said Otsyula.

"We want to tell Ngilu that even the President's case at The Hague ended. Even yours will go and you will be back in government. You are part of Jubilee," Njoroge said.

Although she was an instrumental figure in Kenyatta's 2013 campaign, the corruption allegations have complicated her relationship with the Jubilee coalition.