Monday, May 11, will forever be etched in the minds of Deputy President William Ruto's allies as the day in which his deteriorating relationship with President Uhuru Kenyatta took a worrying turn.
The DP saw his most influential allies stripped off their leadership position including Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen who was axed from the Senate's Majority Leader post.
At the same time, talk has been rife that since the groundbreaking handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in March 2018, the former premier has become engraved in government issues with some accusing him of engineering the ousters.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Political Analyst Martin Andati observed that in all the hullabaloo surrounding the ruling party, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga had two main gains from the setback on the DP Ruto camp.
He noted that Raila is having his sweet revenge explaining that Ruto has previously cost him the presidency. He further argued that the former premier has easily ascended to becoming the second most powerful figure in government after Uhuru.
"Raila is a catalyst. Wrangles in Jubilee makes it better for him. He is settling scores with Ruto. Ruto stopped him from getting the presidency so he is paying back Ruto with the same coin.
"Unofficially, he is the deputy president. He is able to influence government and some of his guys are able to get appointments at the expense of Ruto's team," he observed.
He alluded to the case where Raila's sister was appointed to chair the board of Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC).
In January 2020, Peter Odoyo, a Raila's ally, also was also appointed the Cabinet Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the defence docket.
Moi Factor
The University of Nairobi lecturer, Dr. Jane Thuo, however, argued that it was too early to rope in Raila as the force behind Jubilee wrangles noting that KANU leader Gideon Moi was also a factor in the latest ousters.
She further observed that Raila had already scored major influence by the handshake but still maintained that the AU envoy was more powerful than Ruto and Gideon.
"My opinion is that the handshake definitely disoriented Jubilee. I would say that Raila has a direct hand in the wrangles. It might be true but it is not proven that Raila might be having an invisible hand.
"Whatever is happening in Jubilee is that the president is finding it hard to execute some duties... It might be politics of convenience and the president might be filling that the other team is no longer important," the Development Communication Consultant explained.
Murkomen and former Majority Whip Susan Kihika were ousted after allegedly being accused of not supporting President Uhuru Kenyatta's agenda.
Murkomen was replaced by West-Pokot Senator Samuel Poghisio while Murang'a Senator Irungu Kang'ata took Kihika's place.
