Powerful clique want Saitoti, Mutula and Wetang'ula fired

By Juma Kwayera

Possible prosecution of senior Government officials over post-election violence at The Hague has irked a clique close to President Kibaki.

The influential group is now pushing for the sacking of three Party of National Unity (PNU) ministers for “not doing enough” to shield the officials including Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta from the International Criminal Court (ICC) process.

The spirited campaign waged by the group comprising ministers from either side of the ruling coalition has put in doubt the tenures of Internal Security Minister George Saitoti, Justice counterpart Mutula Kilonzo and former Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetang’ula.

But the plot has been overshadowed by incessant bickering in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in which a faction led by suspended Higher Education William Ruto and supported by the President’s party, have been hitting out at Prime Minister Raila Odinga as the architect of the legal and political woes facing the Ocampo Six.

ODM Nominated MP Musa Sirma says while the matter is still a secret, there are tell-tales signs the three ministers could be up for the chop.

“The people on the list are under the protection of the President. The vicious wars in PNU have been muffled by the infighting in ODM. We cannot explain why the people on the list have the power to dictate to the President what to do,” says Sirma.

He says he is aware the President’s party faces a serious internal revolt, but the ODM woes have provided a platform to divert attention from the fierce infighting.

“The blame game in PNU has been going on and now the President wants to lock everybody to divert attention from the decisions he has been making,” the MP says.

Last weekend, Public Works Assistant Minister Mwangi Kiunjuri alluded to the discontent in his party when he warned PNU against celebrating the fallout in ODM. He said all political outfits are exposed to disintegration.

As a Cabinet reshuffle looms, a highly placed source told The Standard on Sunday that Prof Saitoti is a target for sacking for allegedly “not doing enough” to resist ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, while Kilonzo is being hounded for opposing the push to withdraw Kenya from the Rome State.

In a text message, an ally of one of the three ministers, says: “Uhuru has trained his guns on Saitoti and Mutula. He thinks Mutula is pushing others to The Hague, while Saitoti in whose office the sub-committee on ICC was based, did not do enough to stop Ocampo.”

The push by the President’s confidantes to replace Kilonzo with Njeru Githae and Wetang’ula with Eugene Wamalwa has opened new rifts in PNU, which is struggling to hold together. This is not the first time President Kibaki is coming under pressure to purge ministers perceived not to be serving the party’s interests.

Gichugu MP Martha Karua resigned as Justice minister when she declined to endorse Executive decisions in her ministry she was not party to. Ms Karua’s exit in April 2009, paved the way for Kilonzo to be moved from the Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development, now held by Githae.

If Kibaki accedes to the pressure Saitoti’s portfolio is likely to go to Transport Minister Amos Kimunya. The cabinet sub-committee on ICC, which Saitoti chairs, is headquartered in his office, but it is the opinion of the President’s advisors the minister was outmanoeuvred by his ODM colleagues that provided a platform for Ocampo to circle the six suspects.

Mr Wetang’ula has privately told friends he is likely to be replaced by his nemesis in Ford-Kenya and Saboti MP Eugene. He reportedly earned the wrath of the President’s inner circle for “failing” to put up a strong case against ICC prosecutions. He has in Parliament and at international forums urged for retention of Kenya as a signatory of ICC.

It came as no surprise that Githae, Kimunya and Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi have been seen huddling for hours after Parliament resumed last Tuesday. The three are key Uhuru allies and have been quite vocal in calls to have the Ocampo Six tried locally.

To their chagrin, Kilonzo has opposed a local judicial process and last weekend termed as “utter nonsense” attempts to set aside Sh4 billion for legal fees for suspects.

The minister, who is also Secretary-General of Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka’s ODM-Kenya, has been resolute in defending the ICC process.

His stand contradicts that of Kalonzo, who is currently in shuttle diplomacy to rally African states during this month’ African Union heads of state summit in Ethiopia, against the Rome Statute.

Asked about the push to kick Kilonzo and the other colleagues out of the Cabinet, ODM-Kenya Vice-chairman David Musila denied knowledge of such a move.

“Even if it is happening, we (party members) are never consulted on many things these days. Most of us have chosen to be aloof on such intrigues and focus on serving those who elected us to Parliament,” says Musila, an Assistant Minister for Defence.

The developments in the President’s party have had a trigger effect on party leaders who prefer to steer off controversy. Last weekend, Saitoti ended his equivocation on his political ambitions when he announced he would vie for the presidency on a PNU ticket.

The announcement was also a coded message to Uhuru that he was ready to roll up his sleeves for a bruising political fight next year.

The three ministers did not respond to requests for interview. One of Saitoti’s allies termed his announcement to go for the presidency as a consequence of the plans to oust him from the Cabinet in a reshuffle expected in two or three months. As a pointer of what is afoot, while Saitoti is acting Foreign Minister, it is Kalonzo the President dispatched to other African capitals to drum up support for Kenya’s campaign against ICC.