President Uhuru’s Jubilee party in house cleaning in the Senate is in top gear, Party secretary general and Senate Majority Whip have announced the changes which appear to push out lawmakers allied to Deputy President William Ruto’s tanga tanga wing from key positions.
The changes announced by Senate majority whip Senator Irungu Kang’ata, will see Ruto allies removed from the leadership of key committees and being replaced by perceived party loyalists and also members of other parties that are in cooperation with Jubilee.
Here are the changes
1. Senator Christopher Lang’at (Bomet)has been replaced at the House Business Committee by Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja.
Lang’at also lost his post as Education Committee chairman to Senate Alice Milgo.
2. Senator Samson Cherargei (Nandi) has been removed as chairman of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee.
3. Meru Senator Linturi Mithika has lost his membership in the powerful Senate County Public Accounts and Investment Committee, he has been replaced by Senator Fatuma Dullo.
4. John Kinyua has lost his position as the chairman of the Devolution Committee
There was consolation for former Senate majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen who will now be a member of the Devolution Committee.
The changes have been communicated to the Senate speaker Ken Lusaka for immediate action
Last Friday, seven DP Ruto allies, all Jubilee members, voted to save the Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki, with an overwhelming majority of 54 senators endorsing his removal.
Prof Kindiki was removed for being disloyal to the President after he skipped a meeting called by the Jubilee party leader to change the House leadership.
However, Hon Kang’ata said they will not undertake ethnic profiling in reorganising the committees but maintained that some those who voted against the motion will face the music.
“We shall not undertake ethnic profiling, hence some of those that voted against [the motion] may survive. We don’t’ intend for example to recall our PSC (Parliamentary Service Commission) commissioner. But some will definitely face the sanctions,” he said.
