The discord in government can no longer be masked. President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have parted ways and what remains is just semblance of amity. What is obtaining in the political scene is chaos and disorder, which is disastrous for the country.
It’s high pretence to delude ourselves that the government can work in the current atmosphere, where the ruling party is torn apart and the Opposition muddled and deeply entangled in the fractious wars within Jubilee. The political atmosphere is already poisoned and no meaningful development can take place.
Events of the past few days have been frightening. MPs supporting President Kenyatta and Opposition Leader Raila Odinga in one camp against those backing Mr Ruto have been throwing salvos at each other, which is clearly an open war.
The rift between the President Kenyatta and his deputy has deepened. They can no longer pretend that they can work together and deliver on the mandate they were given by the electorate in 2017.
In the latest spat, President Kenyatta’s group has demanded that Mr Ruto resign from government because he has publicly disagreed with his boss, bringing into question his loyalty to the Head of State. Conversely, Mr Ruto’s supporters are calling for dissolution of Parliament and a return to the polls.
The tone of the political exchanges smacks of extreme intolerance. The conflict is all about the presidential transition due in 2022, when President Kenyatta’s two terms expire. Mr Ruto, who has declared his interest in the presidency, has been on the warpath because he thinks obstacles are being placed in his path to block his ascent to the highest office. This is the reason he is stridently opposed to the Building Bridges Initiative, which he perceives as a strategy to change the Constitution and block him from becoming president.
Divisions within the political class are now playing out in Parliament and that means President Kenyatta cannot have his way there. Government motions risk rejection. All the talk about the ‘Big Four Agenda’ is vain as the projects are in jeopardy.
When the President and the deputy cannot tolerate each other, and when their supporters publicly trade insults, the government has more or less collapsed and only waiting for obituary writers.
Whatever the case, the buck stops with President Kenyatta. He has to take charge and lead from the front.
If his party members have resorted to rebellion, he should deal with them.
Better still, he should occasion their exit so that we do not have a scenario where members of the same government fight every day over everything but purport to cohabit.
