President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday, June 1, summoned Jubilee MPs to State House for a parliamentary meeting.
A Jubilee legislator who preferred not to be named confirmed to Kenyans.co.ke that the head of state had called for the meeting.
“Mheshimiwa, I wish to invite you for a Jubilee Coalition, National Assembly Parliamentary Group Meeting, at Statehouse Nairobi tomorrow, Tuesday 2nd June 2020 at 9 a.m. Please be punctual, Uhuru Kenyatta, Party Leader,” the text seen by Kenyans.co.ke directed.
The legislators are expected to be at the meeting at 9 a.m. with reports of the Jubilee purge that was witnessed in the Senate moving to Parliament.
"We received a text message informing of the meeting. The agenda is expected to be general party housekeeping," the MP stated.
Earlier in May, perceived allies of Deputy President William Ruto were ejected from leadership positions in the senate. Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika were ejected from the Majority Leader and Majority Whip positions respectively as Kithiki Kindiki was impeached as the Deputy Speaker.
Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju assured that the purge would be moving to the National Assembly to tame disloyal members.
“We will deal with those errant members. When it is Members of Parliament we expect 100 percent fidelity to the contract they signed with the party. And we do have those contracts available for any inspection. When they were going for elections they said they were going to support the party. They hanged on the goodwill of the party to get their positions. For them to now change tact midstream is nothing but a betrayal of the party,” he affirmed.
Members in the National Assembly whose positions may be on the line include, Budget and Appropriations Committee Kimani Ichung'wah, Majority Whip Benjamin Washiali and his deputy Cecily Mbarire.
Majority Leader Aden Duale's fate may linger in the balance, but Jubilee vice-chairman David Murathe in a previous interview defended the Garissa town legislator due to his commitment to pushing for the president's agenda in parliament.
“We do not care where Duale’s heart is politically. He has delivered on any assignment the President has given him in the House,” he stated.
A source close to Duale who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke, stated that the legislator wasn't at risk of losing his majority leader seat.
"He has the confidence of both the party leader (Uhuru Kenyatta) and the deputy party leader (William Ruto)," he stated.
"Furthermore, having served as the majority leader for two terms, Duale has developed a good working relationship with members of the house. With this, he is assured that he will not be voted out," the source noted.
At the same time, analyst Herman Mayora opined that Duale would be spared in the Jubilee purge but his loyalty would be tested.
"For Duale, what he has to do now is not only support the president but actually facilitate the removal of the 'rebels' from the positions of power in Parliament," he told this writer at the time.
