The United Democratic Alliance party has called for the sacking of Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his ICT counterpart Joe Mucheru. The party that is linked to Deputy President William Ruto also wants the two removed from the multi-agency team that is planning for next year’s elections.
In a statement on Saturday, the party accused the two Cabinet secretaries of violating the Constitution and their oath of office by endorsing and campaigning for ODM leader Raila Odinga for the 2022 presidency.
UDA secretary-general Veronica Maina, in a letter to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), said that the inclusion of the two in the multi-agency team also risked eroding Kenyans’ confidence in the electoral process.
Both Dr Matiang’i and Mr Mucheru are by virtue of their offices, expected to play a pivotal role in the upcoming elections.
While the Interior ministry will provide security, the ICT department will be responsible for the technology to be used in voter identification and transmission of election results, functions that Ms Maina said could be compromised by the two.
“Last week, it was shocking to hear Interior and Coordination of National Government Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru had publicly endorsed the presidential candidature of Raila Odinga, contrary to the provisions of the Constitution.
“The stand of the two CSs has compromised the offices they hold and they should resign and engage in a full-time election campaign. What is worse, is the inclusion of the two partisan CSs in a multi-agency team planning for a “free, fair and transparent elections,” Ms Maina said.
Both Dr Matiang’i and Mr Mucheru, have been accused of campaigning for Mr Odinga in the past couple of months, accusations that the two have both denied.
They have insisted that their engagements were in line with their mandate of helping President Uhuru Kenyatta implement his legacy ahead of the elections.
Last week, Dr Matiang’i was accused of endorsing the candidature of Mr Odinga, after the CS – while attending a fundraiser with the ODM leader in Nyamira, threw his weight behind the former prime minister, a move that caused an uproar among URP affiliated leaders.
“Since the handshake, I have made it clear that I won’t go where the president and former prime minister are not,” Dr Matiang’i said.
“I want to assure the Abagusii community that I am right in between President Kenyatta and his handshake co-principal Raila and I know my space is in between them.”
Ms Maina said such statements by the CS were reckless, and bordered on anarchy, since the Constitution was already clear on what state officers, including Cabinet secretaries, ought and ought not to do.
She said that by allowing the two to sit alongside the IEBC in the multi-agency team planning the election, would subject the commission to manipulation by the two.
“When IEBC sits in meetings and appears helpless and subservient to the two CSs, is this not an abdication of its constitutional duty? How are millions of Kenyans supposed to trust such a process?” she posed.
“IEBC is an independent commission which, pursuant to Article 249 of the Constitution, should not be subject to direction or control by any person,” she added.
