Most Jubilee top officials have insisted that the line-up will be intact when it comes to the succession of President Uhuru Kenyatta in State House.
They have always gone around pledging to all gang up behind Deputy President in 2022 as a payback for the support he has offered in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s two term presidency victories.
But this tone is starting to take different twists.
President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday gave the clearest signal yet that the country could be headed for a referendum to scrap what he termed a destructive “winner-takes-all” system of government.
Opening up for the first time about pre-handshake talks with his new opposition soulmate Raila Odinga, Uhuru said the current presidential system was unfairly excluding some communities from leadership.
The President said it was necessary to have a government structure that accommodates even election losers to prevent the bitterness among Kenyans that has triggered post-poll violence.
“We said we must look at this issue of winner takes all. If that is why some people feel left out of government, we must ask ourselves, ‘Is is a good thing or not’,” Uhuru said during his first tour of Raila’s Nyanza backyard, previously considered an opposition bedrock.
Speaking in Kisumu where he was given a hero’s welcome, Uhuru acknowledged that the presidential system had weaknesses that needed solutions.
This words are contrary to Deputy President William Ruto’s wish. The Deputy President has had strong stands for the calls for referendum.
Earlier this year when the calls started gaining momentum DP Ruto publicly declared that he will only support the calls if it is aimed at reducing the cost of living of the mwananchi. He also said that he won’t support any agenda that is aimed at creating posts for other people who have their own political interests.
This might be the beginning of war between the President and his Deputy. The Deputy President Ruto has been leading the tangatanga team in various fund raising programs in order to solidify his ambition for presidency.
The latest President Declaration is a hint that the power of electing the President will be vested to the MPs, that is the adoption of the Parliamentary system.
This will mean DP Ruto efforts will be left for the chosen few to decide.
Will he really accept this type of system?