Allies of Deputy President William Ruto broke their silence on the effect of President Uhuru Kenyatta's Executive Order No 1 of 2020.
Lawyer Donald Kipkorir had stated that “The Executive Order abolishes separate budget, administration & staffing for the deputy president...Now henceforth, there will be singular budget, administration & staffing of the office of the president under Joseph Kinyua."
The document has sparked a lot of debate about whether it had implications in the office of DP Ruto, abolishing The Presidency which was established by Executive Order No 1 of 2013 and maintained until the recent one which changed to The Executive Office of The President.
“Relax. The next two years will be about succession politics. It will come In various forms; Fight for legislative control, change the constitution, fire & hire CSs & other senior government officials, political arrests, intimidation of judges etc then boom! Time is over. Nothing much,” Elgeyo Senator Kipchumba Murkomen.
"What exactly are people debating about the amendment to the executive order? The dictionary definition of presidency (popularly used in US) is the Office of President. Where did people get this other definition that says DP office should be autonomous?" he questioned.
Constitutional lawyer Ahmednassir stated that “The leading legal commentary on the executive order issued today by H.E. Uhuru are advanced on Twitter by laymen with zero legal education.”
“The constitution talks of the president and the deputy president. The Presidency is a constitutional heresy," he added.
Jubilee Party Deputy Secretary General Caleb Kositany explained that the office of the deputy president is a constitutional office hence it could not be abolished.
Digital strategist Dennis Itumbi stated that the executive order only ensured that the changes done over the last two years were captured in a single document.
“For instance, Nzioka Waita is no longer head of PDU. Kiunjuri is no longer CS etc. Ignore the rumours by KTNNews. Executive office of the president and the office of the deputy president remain intact.”
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, on the other hand, stated that the executive order was null and void.
"An executive order is a form of statutory instrument and as such should be subjected to the parliamentary committee on delegated legislation. As such, the executive order, as issued, is illegal, null and void," he weighed in.
While many Ruto allies state that he has always been under the office of the president, President Kenyatta in his Executive Order No.1 of 2013 established The Presidency which included both their offices. (The Executive Office of The President and The Executive Office of The Deputy President).
Senator Mutula Kilonzo Junior who is a lawyer stated that “What the Executive order has done is the president is simply reiterating the principle that he is the boss.”
“The word presidency was used loosely because it is not found in the law, it was political. The president is consolidating his team so that they understand that all fall under him irrespective of how they came to office,” he explained.
