The Jubilee Party has addressed reports that a section of its Members of Parliament had initiated plans to impeach National Assembly Speaker, Justin Muturi.
According to reports, the MPs - mostly drawn from President Uhuru Kenyatta's Kieleweke faction - are already collecting signatures in a bid to kick out Muturi who has served in the position since 2013.
Reports further indicate that members of the Speaker’s inner circle held a crisis meeting on Tuesday, November 9, to deliberate on the way forward and how to address the impending impeachment.
The MPs allied to the Kieleweke faction are said to be unhappy with the Speaker's perceived closeness with Deputy President William Ruto. Both Muturi and Ruto have expressed interest in the country's top job.
However, Jubilee Party Secretary General, Raphael Tuju, told Kenyans.co.ke that he was not aware of any plans to remove Muturi from his position.
National Assembly Majority Leader and Kipipiri Member of Parliament, Amos Kimunya, distanced himself from the plans to kick out Muturi stating that he was not aware of any scheme to remove the Speaker and neither had he received instructions from the party or its leadership to carry out the ouster.
“I am not aware of any attempt to remove Speaker Muturi. The peddlers of the story are trying to shift attention from the Jubilee revitalisation campaign and the oncoming National Delegates Conference,” Kimunya stated.
Kieni lawmaker, Kanini Kega, also distanced himself from the claims, asserting that his main focus was the proposed Jubilee National Delegates Conference (NDC) where the members plan to kick DP Ruto out of the party.
Kega stated that he will be the one to move the motion to remove Ruto from the party. The lawmaker also reminded Jubilee rebels that they were not invited to the convention scheduled for November 30.
“You know me very well, it is not a question of just saying when I want to do something I am committed to it. On the removal of Muturi, I am not a party to it, I have not been approached by anyone on this and neither will I take part in it,” the MP stated.
This comes amid speculation that Speaker Muturi was working against President Uhuru Kenyatta even as he tries his hand in elective politics.
On September 17, 2021, Muturi faulted the Jubilee Party for purging on errant lawmakers, a move he termed as dictatorial.
“A party should write to the member and notify the Speaker, then give the member a chance to defend themselves. You don’t just wake up and say ‘we are throwing you out. You are out in the cold.’ That is a dictatorship,” Muturi said.
