Jump to navigation

Kenya

Plot to impeach William Ruto gathers steam

If it wins enough votes, the plan could bar the Deputy President from the succession race

After Musalia Mudavadi's Amani National Congress revealed that it had instructed its legal team to draft articles of impeachment, the idea has been enthusiastically taken up by William Ruto's enemies in the governing Jubilee party.

Jubilee party vice chairman David Murathe said the party will rally its members to support the motion once it is tabled in the House. As one of Ruto's fiercest critics, Murathe's stance is unsurprising. But wider support for the plan is damaging the Deputy President (AC Vol 61 No 19, Keeping up with the Kenyattas). 

Accusations of land grabbing and corruption have accompanied Ruto throughout his political career, there is little pretence that impeachment is motivated by anything other than politics. It would leave Ruto without a party a year ahead of the presidential elections in which he sees himself as a leading contender.

'We shall support anybody who brings a motion to impeach the Deputy President on account of violation of chapter six on ethics and integrity,' Murathe warned at the weekend. For the moment, it is unclear whether Ruto's critics are close to having the numbers, but the impeachment threat is genuine.



Related Articles

Keeping up with the Kenyattas

As they take the field, the battle between the President and his deputy is testing the limits of ethnic politics

'You should go and insult your mother, not mine' said President Uhuru Kenyatta on 10 September to a small crowd just outside Nairobi. He was referring to two...


Donors defeated

KANU has outplayed foreign attempts to censure corruption and political repression

When donors meeting in Paris on 22 March decided to disburse US$730 million to Kenya, it marked the end of any serious effort to get President Daniel arap...


Frontier fracas

Conflict flares between Mogadishu and Nairobi over Jubaland. Kenya wants a buffer zone but Farmajo has other ideas

Months of tensions between Mogadishu and its southern state of Jubaland came to the boil in early March and spilled across the Kenyan border in a violent face-off...


Making enemies of the press

The country’s leading media group faces financial struggles and competition from social platforms, while foreign outlets expand in Nairobi

A highly competitive and – by the region’s standards – vibrant media culture is among the legacies of Nation Media Group (NMG) founder and owner, Prince Shah Karim...