For more than a year and a half now, what started as silent divisions inside the Jubilee Party spilled over and became staple in the country's political headlines pitting President Uhuru Kenyatta's supporters against those of his Deputy William Ruto.
At the center of these wrangles is Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho who is arguably among the most powerful PSs in the country.
According to a report by the Daily Nation, ever since Ruto's camp kicked off early campaigns, the president turned to technocrats like Kibicho to run the government.
This is thanks to a recent upgrade of himself and his boss, CS Fred Matiang'i, into being super CS and PS respectively. Kibicho chairs the powerful National Development Implementation Technical Committee that was formed by Uhuru in January this year.
Matiang'i chairs the National Development Implementation and Communication Cabinet Committee.
The title reportedly came with administrative networks and Kibicho himself is widely considered as Kenyatta’s Mr Fixit according to the publication.
Inside Ruto's camp, on the other hand, the DP's allies have constantly gone after the PS accusing him of waging war against their leader by using amorphous groupings that have been erupting across various counties.
In the recent attack, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro claimed that the PS was inappropriately using a confidential vote in his ministry to do politics and has been pushing to have it scraped off.
The PS, in his defence, dared the MP to go ahead and scrap it arguing that, "If they feel it (the expenditure) is not useful for our country they can scrap it. We have no problem. They can do as they please.”
In mid-May, there was an alleged altercation between Ruto and Kibicho while they were waiting to receive President Uhuru Kenyatta at JKIA.
The DP, who was seemingly angry, confronted the PS on claims that he instructed county commissioners and police commanders to shun his functions.
It was claimed that Kibicho used his office to control administrators in an effort to frustrate the DP's 2022 presidential bid.
In the ongoing claim that some CSs and PSs were planning to assassinate Ruto, Kibicho's name was dragged into the saga but opting not to engage in the discussion, he opted to keep quiet.
