A section of Democratic Party (DP) officials has ordered the National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi to resign from the party after he joined forces with Deputy President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
Led by Deputy Secretary-General, Wambugu Nyamu, the officials have since filed a petition with the Registrar of Political parties in order to oppose the deal, maintaining that it was a personal decision.
The officials pointed out that the party had initially resolved during its National Delegates Convention (NDC), not to join any coalition prior to the August elections.
Wambugu and other officials opposed to the Muturi-Ruto deal are mounting pressure on the Speaker to resign from the party before joining coalitions with other like-minded politicians.
"I have a message to those who signed the illegal coalition with Kenya Kwanza. If you feel as an individual that you want to join the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), Kenya Kwanza, or any other, you are free to resign and join those parties."
"I'm informing our party leader, Justin, chairman and Secretary-General that the party belongs to the members. As the party, we are not joining any coalition in any way, form, or matter," he stated.
Wambugu, alongside other officials, made the announcement after convening a meeting in order to chart the way forward for the party. This comes after Muturi, on Saturday, April 9, signed an agreement with the Kenya Kwanza coalition, before hitting the campaign trail on Sunday.
"I am happy because my party has given me that backing and I indeed want to say to my brothers who believe in this conversation that we cannot be if the others can't. There can't be a Kenya for different people. Kenya is big for all of us," the outgoing speaker stated at the time.
DP Ruto, while welcoming Muturi to the coalition, lauded him for resisting the influence of political leaders who urged him to join other factions.
"This is a very monumental day, a culmination of months of intense consultations. I am a very proud Kenyan that today we are joined by the Democratic Party. The party was started and led by Kenya’s finest economist, Hon. Mwai Kibaki," the DP stated.
