The battle to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta is now knocking at State House, with rivalry within cabinet set to escalate in the coming days.
Trade and Industrialization CS Peter Munya, in an interview with the Nation on Wednesday, fired at Deputy President William Ruto, an indication that Uhuru has a lot to fix.
Munya insisted that meetings bringing together civil servants from Mt Kenya will only be stopped by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who he said was in charge.
On the Cabinet, he said, Uhuru had structured it in the manner that most issues are handled by Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i and PS Karanja Kibicho, an indication that he may necessarily not need Ruto.
“Only the President can stop our meetings as he is the one who has told us to address issues affecting our people,” Munya who said he usually chairs the meetings, said.
“We have been able to understand the issues affecting our people and channel towards specific departments and ensure they are implemented more smoothly. At the end of the day what we want is a satisfied population that is not left out of government,” he said.
Asked if the claims could split the Cabinet, Munya noted: “everybody in the Cabinet has his or her mandate and has a boss who is the president.”
The Cabinet, he said, also operates under committees-one headed by Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and technical one headed by Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho which handles issues before they are brought to the Cabinet.
“The government has been functioning well because of structures established by the President,” Munya observed.
While DP Ruto is said to have linked Munya and several other leaders from Mt Kenya to the alleged assassination plot, he is yet to formally register a complaint at DCI.
An aide in his office said the DP will not, after all, record a statement. The move is likely to drag the matter further causing animosity in the Cabinet.
“Those who want him to record a statement know what he is talking about and can investigate the matter without his input, which he will not give anyway,” said one of his aides.