By THEDISPATCH.DIGITAL
A Cabinet Secretary fired by President William Ruto last week in compliance with demands of protestors countrywide has threatened him (President Ruto) with unspecified political consequences after the action. At the same time, others were, some through proxies, pleading with the President to be considered for re-appointment when the Cabinet is reconstituted.
The former CS who openly threatened President Ruto was Aden Barre Duale, a former Dujis MP who had to relinquish his Parliamentary job to take up appointment as CS for Defence, which is considered a lucrative appointment due to the huge and opaque defence tenders that the Department of Defence controls. Duale is said in some quarters to have invited his fiends and members of community to participate in the lucrative defence tenders and had a big personal stake in them.
During his tenure at DoD, Diale has, by dint of his job, played a key role in procurement of new defence equipment and was [preparing for an overhaul of the Airforce, which currently flies old equipment that had led to the death of one of its former commanders who had risen to Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Francis Ogolla. The Airforce was expected to acquire new equipment following President Ruto’s trip to the United States of America, where he was feted on a State Visit and received pledges of new equipment and military support.
Some observers believe that Duale became a casualty of the President’s sacking order due to his premature advise to the President to deploy the military on the streets to curb the riots.
“It’s interesting that Duale, who dodged mandatory pre-university service at National Youth Service before he joined university, can advise the President on matters military,” says George Irungu, a Nairobi IT consultant. “Ruto should not have listened to this man because that was setting him up for a coup easily executable by soldiers already on the streets. All it requires is a rogue Major or Lieutenant Colonel to execute one as the men are already on the streets. Very unwise move.”
“It was an emotional moment and Duale took advantage of the President’s panic and anger to urge him to deploy the military,” he continued. “It’s regrettable as its effects are yet to be seen and could hasten Rutos’ exit from power if it comes to a confrontation between civilians and the military since the soldiers are already on the streets and would no conspiracy to come onto the streets.”
In Tharaka Nithi, local Governor Muthiomi Njuki launched a barely concealed appeal to President Ruto to re-appoint former Interior CS Prof. Kithure Kindiki back to the Cabinet, saying he could not sacrifice two people from the same region. Referring to the sacking (disguised as a resignation) of former Police Inspector General Eng. Japhept Koome, Njuki claimed Kindiki had done his job well and deserved to be re-appointed to the Cabinet.
Sounding triumphant in Nyeri and seeking to find a place in the new dispensation where his friend and ally, Deputy President Rigathi Gacagua, is expected to play a bigger role, Nyeri Governor Kahiga Muitahi offered unsolicited advise to the President. “It does not matter who is close to you, in politics it’s your skin that matters and this is a nation whose existence and survival are in your hands. It’s important for you now to take action, the best action that you think should be taken,” he said. Incidentally, Kahiga is one of the Central Kenya politicians who follow the shareholder script of Deputy President Gacagua to have more Cabinet appointments made from the Mt. Kenya region as a condition for voting for Ruto in 2027.
But it was the accusation that Raila Odinga had a hand in the sackings, which were caused by the protests, that has attracted the most attention. Analysts believe that although Raila had no hand in the sackings and was largely a spectator in the protests that rocked the country and culminated in the storming of Parliament, he has been positioning himself to reap from the effects and is in fact preparing to post some of his closes allies and financiers in the new Cabinet.
In the Western region former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya’s wife encountered a hostile crowd at a funeral attended by Raila, when she begged for her husband to be given something in a new arrangement, revealing that the former Governor had already discussed it with her and wanted to be appointed into the Ruto government. Oparanaya was pone of the ODM Governors believed to have deployed county resources into the politics of Raila Odinga, financing his helicopter trips and other activities and therefore earning his favours and being appointed as his Deputy Party Leader.
Raila’s intentions, widely condemned by many Kenyans, were made public by his elder brother and Siaya Senator Dr. Oburu Oginga, who said they were ready to take up positions in the reconstituted Cabinet. Known for voicing his younger brother Raila’s political views, Dr. Oginga said ODM was ready to negotiate for positions with Ruto as a way of being included in the Government as they could not wait until 2027. “We’re just wishing well for our people and we want inclusion,” he said while declaring that at over 80 years old, he did not wish to become a Cabinet Minister.