It is now emerging that President Uhuru Kenyatta already had a replacement for his deputy, William Ruto following their fallout in 2018 and was only waiting for the DP to resign.
Speaking during a church service on Sunday, May 1 in Webuye East, Bungoma County, Jubilee party Vice Chairperson David Murathe revealed that the Head of State had settled on Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa.
However, Ruto threw a spanner in the works when he refused to tender his resignation as the second-in-command, putting the presidency at a collision course.
"The president was hoping he could replace Ruto with Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, but the deputy president did not resign as we’d expected,” he revealed.
Murathe intimated that the fronting of CS Wamalwa to be Uhuru's right-hand man did not crop up following the handshake between the Head of State and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in March 2018.
The political veteran added that the soft-spoken Defence Boss had been picked by The National Alliance (TNA) to be President Kenyatta's running mate in 2013, but Ruto, who was the United Republican Party-URP leader was picked for a greater good.
"In efforts to heal the 2007/2008 post-election wounds, TNA resolved that the deputy president slot should go to a member of the Rift Valley community, now that Uhuru Kenyatta had secured the president’s slot," Murathe explained.
The vice-chair of the ruling party, who was joined by Wamalwa during the event, slammed Ruto's move to castigate a possibility of having a handshake after the August 9 General Election. He opined that the DP should emulate ODM leader Raila Odinga and put the country's interests first.
On his part, Wamalwa called the Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate a rabble-rouser, accusing him of being a hardliner who was opposed to the handshake between the late President Mwai Kibaki and Raila following the 2007/2008 post election skirmishes.
"We know he was one of the hard-liners who were opposed to that handshake when he was with Raila. 10 years later, when the handshake brought back peace and economic stability, he belittles the handshake before his boss and Kibaki," he narrated.
The ongoing spat between Uhuru and Ruto played out during the Labour Day celebrations at the Nyayo Stadium on Sunday, May 1. A visibly angry President called him out his deputy, accusing of abandoning him when he needed him the most.
As expected, the defiant DP did not take the rant lying down, replying sarcastically to the president.
"Sorry, my Boss. I feel your pain. Those you assigned my responsibilities and 'project' mzee have let you down miserably. They bungled our Big 4, killed our party and wasted your second term. Boss, I am available. Just a phone call away. Sadly last Cabinet was 2 years ago," he stated.
