Jubilee Party Secretary-General Raphael Tuju has responded to claims by former Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi that he was to blame for her impeachment.
Tuju spoke to Kenyans.co.ke and clarified that he played no role whatsoever in Elachi’s misfortune.
He stated that the matter of contention, that the Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) violated the Standing Orders, was an issue that should have been settled in court.
Tuju explained that the Standing Orders are domiciled at the Assembly and, therefore, out of his jurisdiction as a party official and added that the decision to oust her was supported by legislators from both sides of the house.
“If it was only Jubilee, I could have prevailed over the MCAs”, he commented.
He gave an example of when both he and Deputy President William Ruto whipped the members the first time Elachi faced an impeachment motion in June.
She had criticised him on Sunday claiming, "He should have intervened on behalf of our party leadership. Tuju did not even try to find out what had transpired in the assembly on the day I was removed."
After her ouster in September, the ex-speaker obtained conservatory orders where she sought the court's determination on whether her impeachment was procedural.
Despite the order, the MCAs on went ahead to elect Ngara MCA Chege Mwaura to replace her on a temporary basis.
The close friend of the DP and Jacob Ngwele, the assembly Clerk, were accused of having disagreements over financial malpractices and award of tenders that cast a cloud of corruption on the House.
The clerk was arrested in connection with suspicious procurement of books worth Ksh1 Million.
