DP Ruto begged four Kalenjin MPs to join 50 others in meeting with President Uhuru at Statehouse Nairobi however the four MPs fired back saying they had pressing matters to attend to.
The DP sent text messages to Jubilee members in the four committees yesterday that he (Statehouse) wants the four Kalenjin MPs to step down as chairmen and give to Kikuyu and Somali MPs despite having been duly elected by committee members in parliament as per standing orders.
“Mheshimiwa, This is to invite you for a consultative meeting with the Party leader tomorrow (today) 18th Jan 2018 at 8.30am at State House Nairobi. Please be prompt,” the text said.
Later in the afternoon, Ruto sent another message asking MPs to confirm their attendance.
“Mheshimiwa please confirm availability for the meeting at State House Nairobi Tomorrow (today) at 8.30am,” his second text message said.
Now , the four Kalenjin MPs Messirs Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills), Silas Tiren (Moiben),Alex Kosgey (Emgwen) and David Bowen (Marakwet) refused to attend the statehouse meeting and instead asked DP Ruto to keep off bunge affairs. They at the same time told DP Ruto to let Uhuru focus on important matters like resolving power sharing with Raila Odinga thus uniting the country and naming the cabinet.
The four chairmen told the local media that they would not make it to the Statehouse meeting because they had various commitments that could not be cancelled.
Keter, who is attending the hearing of a petition filed against his election in Eldoret, was livid. He accused the Deputy President of abusing his office.
“This is such a petty issue. Why is he bringing the President in it? The President has a huge task of uniting the country and putting together his Cabinet and other important state matters,” Keter said.
“The reason they want us out of those committees is because they do not want oversight,” Keter charged.
“They want puppets they can manipulate at will. We will not accept that. Let Parliament be allowed to perform its duties without undue influence,” Keter added.
Hon Bowen, who was elected the chairman of Environment and Natural Resources, said he was upcountry to attend to security matters in his constituency.
“I have very pressing security issues back here at home that I need to address. I will be back in Nairobi on Monday,” he said.
Both Hon Tiren and Kosgey also said they were out of town on official business.
The four have insisted that they see no reason to resign because they were elected by members of their respective committees properly.
The High Court had granted them orders suspending the decision by the Jubilee Party to remove them from the committees, thereby rendering their positions vacant.
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