A recent revelation by Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Margaret Kobia has indicated that the executive arm of the government was given an order to support the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report.
Kobia while speaking to The Star claimed that "those who are going out to ask wananchi to stay with the nine BBI issues are doing so because it is an executive order”.
The revelation came amid concerns by experts over the involvement of Cabinet Secretaries in political affairs such as campaigning for the BBI report. According to article 10 of the constitution, Cabinet Secretaries are barred from engaging in political matters.
A number of the Cabinet Secretaries including Interior CS Fred Matiang'i and Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa have been at the forefront of campaigning for the report to the extent of attending political rallies.
If Kobia's sentiments are indeed true, then that means is Deputy President William Ruto, who is part of the executive, disobeyed the order.
DP Ruto had at first opposed the BBI report before making a U-turn to support it without giving a valid explanation as to why he had suddenly changed his stand.
Ruto however in the recent days appears to have changed his stand on the report again as he claimed that it had been crafted to favor the political plans of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.
The Deputy President while speaking in Narok on Sunday criticized the mentality of 'orders from above' among public servants.
“No public official should say they got orders from above unless it is in writing. People should not lie to themselves and pretend as if we are in the old days. Every public servant has a responsibility to implement the Constitution,” Ruto stated.
Being the second highest in command, the only 'above' that Ruto may have been referring to was the President.
This comes at a time when there is an apparent fall out between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto.