Jubilee to Ruto: You cannot belong to two parties

Members of Parliament allied to the Azimio la Umoja coalition have criticised Deputy President William Ruto over what they described as dangerous remarks at his party's convention at Kasarani yesterday.

The 17 lawmakers also asked the Deputy President to resign as the law prohibits membership in two political parties at the same time.

Led by Jubilee secretary-general Jeremiah Kioni, they said the DP was a bitter man and was instigating class wars while drumming up support for his “bottom-up” economic development model.

Mr Kioni said the DP is inciting people to cause chaos.

"The remarks made by the DP are dangerous to this country, especially now that we are going to the elections,” Mr Kioni said.

“For us leaders from Mt Kenya, we want to tell him that we don't want those abuses in our region. Let him take them elsewhere."

He added: “If you leave the party that you were elected on, you have to resign.”

The MPs castigated Dr Ruto for “insulting the President” while holding meetings at his home in Karen, Nairobi.

“When he goes out to campaign, he uses money from the exchequer. And here he is calling the same government that he serves in a mongrel. He is a member of IDEC, an important council that determines the allocation of resources,” Mr Kioni said.

Yatta MP Charles Kilonzo reminded the DP about his case at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"It's not lost on us that it's his case where witnesses were killed and bribed. He is preparing this country for war again," he said.

He added: "If you're not happy with what is happening in your government, then why continue enjoying the benefits of the office?”

The lawmakers now want the DP to officially leave Jubilee because he accepted the UDA mantle yesterday.

"We want political decency as we head to the August polls. It’s not going to be business as usual," Mr Kioni said.