MPs say Uhuru owes region Cabinet post after sacking Rashid Echesa

Deputy President William Ruto and Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali at a past function in Western Kenya. [Standard]

Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala has blamed Jubilee MPs from the Western for failing to lobby for Cabinet positions for their region.

Malala blasted the MPs for being weak and only loud in village rallies instead of lobbying for slots from government.

Earlier, Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe had faulted President Uhuru Kenyatta over the Cabinet changes for not considering the region even after axing Rashid Echesa from the Cabinet.

Uhuru appointed Ukur Yatani as the acting National Treasury CS  after Henry Rotich was charged over the Arror-Kimwarer dams scandal.

Wangwe had mentioned that though Kihalangwa had been moved to the Defence as a Permanent Secretary, President Uhuru still owes the region a Cabinet slot after sacking Mr. Echesa.

He said other regions were enjoying two or three cabinet slots when the expansive Western region was still in the cold with no one to represent them on the high table.

“We have seen some Cabinet secretaries gather in hotels to discuss their issues but for us, we have no one to represent us in those meetings,” said Wangwe.

When he took to the podium, Senator Malala instead reminded Wangwe that he (Wangwe) was a Jubilee MP who should not prosecute such a matter in rallies and public gatherings but should instead approach Deputy President William Ruto and tell him to give the region a slot.

He tasked Wangwe and the chief whip Benjamin Washiali, both Ruto's ally, to take seriously their positions in the ruling party and help the community in getting more leadership slots through Ruto.

"Wangwe and Washiali you don’t need to come here to tell us about Cabinet slots. You can speak to Ruto with whom you spend a lot of time together and sort us out this issue,” he said.

Entebes legislator Robert Pukose found himself on the receiving end when he tried to poke holes in the fight against graft saying it was targeting a community.

“We are seeing a situation where the fight against corruption has been turned into a political weapon,” he said.

Malala reacted back by challenging him (Pukose) to find out why the 25 out of 28 individuals, who were linked to the dam scandal, from their names, were just from the same region.