Two governors and nine Members of Parliament have said the ongoing debate on the impeachment of the Deputy President will derail the government’s development plan.
Governors Lee Kinyanjui (Nakuru), Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu) and MPs David Gikaria (Nakuru Town East), Kimani Ngunjiri (Bahati), Charity Kathambi (Njoro) and Liza Chelule (Women Rep, Nakuru) said the country needs political sobriety if it is to move to the next level.
The leaders, who were in the company of the Deputy President William Ruto, spoke on Friday in Bahati Constituency during the memorial service of the family that lost its members in the Ethiopian Airlines crash in the morning of March 10.
“Our development is dependent on the utterances leaders make. A toxic political environment will inhibit our development, especially the implementation of the Big Four agenda,” said Mr Kinyanjui.
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The Nakuru Governor said it was wrong for the opposition to talk about the impeachment of the Deputy President when unity was gaining momentum in the country.
“We are not ready to pursue any route that would sow division in the society. Our focus is to bring Kenyans together, and address their needs,” he added.
Mr Waititu said the country was still suffering from the hangovers of the tedious 2017 elections, and “any efforts to turn plunge it into another political mood” would not be supported.
“We want Kenyans to access clean drinking water, have better roads, homes and businesses connected to power…that is our agenda as leaders,” noted the Kiambu Governor.
He said Jubilee will not be led into the trap of the opposition of perpetual politics and empty promises to wananchi.
“We got elected because of our development track record. We, therefore, have a debt to transform the lives of Kenyans,” said Mr Waititu.
On his part, Mr Ngunjiri urged leaders to preach unity among Kenyans.
He said MPs would rally themselves in opposing the calls for the impeachment of the Dr Ruto, observing that the move was aimed at disintegrating the government.
“The goal behind the impeachment is to create power vacuum so that the perpetual vote losers can gain power. But they must know that that is an exercise in futility,” he said.
The Bahati MP explained that Jubilee party had full faith and confidence in its top leadership, led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Dr Ruto.
While calling for leaders to focus on issues that would make the lives of Kenyans better, the Deputy President assured the Kenyans who lost their loved ones that the government will do all it can to bring the issue to rest.
He further noted that any support required by the victims’ families will be offered by the government through the ministry of foreign affairs.
“We stand with the families that lost their loved ones. In the coming days, we will hold a joint memorial service for all Kenyans who lost their family members in the plane accident,” said Dr Ruto.
Later, the Deputy President laid a foundation stone for Dr Maurice Dang’ana Secondary School and held a meeting with wananchi at Hamisi Sports Ground in Vihiga County.
He called on Kenyans to shun tribal politics “because that kind of politics is outdated”.
“Political competition should not be between tribes; it should be about who can perform better than the other,” added Dr Ruto.
He was accompanied by MPs Charles Gimose (Hamisi), Dan Wanyama (Webuye West), Ben Washiali (Mumias East) and Bernard Shinali (Ikolomani).
The four lawmakers said the impeachment being talked about won’t work.
They said they were in support of the government’s development plan, and asked their opposition counterparts to embrace development-oriented politics.