ELDORET North MP William Ruto yesterday said he and his allies are now ready to quit ODM, resign from Parliament and face the electorate in fresh elections.
Ruto said Prime Minister Raila Odinga had personalised ODM yet it was formed and comprised leaders from all across the country. An angry Ruto said the decision by ODM to expel rebel MPs was unacceptable and he would fight to prove that ODM was no longer a popular party. “We toiled to form ODM and now someone is telling us to get out. He has turned the party into a cult where you are thrown out if you don’t worship him,” said Ruto.
On Tuesday the ODM secretariat wrote the Registrar of Political Parties Lucy Ndung'u asking her to de-register MPs Adan Dualle and Isaac Rutto because they were working against the party interests. If the Registrar agrees, it could precipitate two by-elections.
Ruto was speaking in Eldoret town when he accompanied Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka who represented President Kibaki at the official opening of the Agricultural Society of Kenya show. “We are ready to face the electorate if that is what they want but they must be ready to battle within the law because we will not accept to be pushed around,” said Ruto who flew to Eldoret with the VP and his entourage of more than 20 MPs. Ruto said they would soon give more details about their plans.
The MPs landed at the Eldoret Airstrip and addressed a crowd outside Paradise Hotel on the way to the showground. Kalonzo immediately backed Ruto saying he was ready to campaign for the Rift Valley MPs if they decide to quit ODM and face the electorate. “If you want to know the actual qualities of a leader, give him or her power. You have seen how some can easily turn into dictators and that is why I decided to go it alone last time. My brother Ruto, take heart and fight on,” said Kalonzo.
The VP said if things got worse, Ruto and his allies should decamp from ODM so that the electorate can decide. Kalonzo said they would put the machinery in place to have the MPs re-elected if they resigned from Parliament. “There are so many ways to skin a cat and if things go bad, then bring everything to the public to decide. That is my view but the decision remains yours,” said Kalonzo.
Kalonzo said the liberation of Kenya from bad leadership was underway and he would stand with like-minded politicians to provide leadership.
Kalonzo said he had succeeded in his shuttle diplomacy to have the international community back the deferral of ICC cases against the Ocampo Six. “Now we are embarking on the second phase of the shuttle diplomacy and we will succeed again because we are a country that can stand on its own and handle this matter,” said Kalonzo. He added that his group cares about the victims of the 2007-08 post-election violence.
Agriculture minister Dr Sally Kosgei will be part of the Kalonzo delegation to lobby members of the UN Security Council to back Kenya's ICC deferral request. She said that she was not ready to see Kenyans tried outside the country for crimes they did not commit.
Kalonzo said the decision by MPs to go on a brief recess was legal and that the MPs were committed to having the new constitution implemented on schedule.
The MPs present included Peris Simam, Bifwoli Wakoli, John Mututho, Joshua Kuttuny, and David Koech.
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