Ruto factor in delayed Cabinet reshuffleBy Alex Ndegwa
Suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto is the reason President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila are yet to reshuffle the Cabinet, The Standard can reveal.
With the 2012 General Election just over a year away, any reshuffle would have political overtones, offering clues on the principals’ trusted aides heading into the Kibaki succession race.
The two are yet to agree on the fate of the Eldoret North MP, who is accused of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
President Kibaki, whose Party of National Unity (PNU) has been relying on Ruto to act as a foil against the Prime Minister and his Orange Democratic Movement party, wanted to reinstate his Rift Valley wingman after Ruto was cleared of corruption charges by the High Court.
The Standard is in possession of communication from Head of the Civil Service and Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura to the Attorney General’s office regarding Ruto that indicates State House was eager to know if there could be other criminal cases lurking behind the suspended minister.
The two principals had agreed on other ministerial changes requested by the PM, but Raila failed to warm up to the idea of the MP returning to Government, saying Ruto still faced other cases in court of a criminal nature, but Kibaki insisted he was in the clear.
One of Raila’s Rift Valley allies, Tinderet MP Henry Kosgey resigned as Industrialisation minister in January, after being charged with abuse of office over car imports saga. Fisheries Minister Amason Kingi is watching over the docket.
Kibaki’s dilemmaMr Kosgey was named alongside Ruto, Deputy Prime Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, Postmaster General, Hussein Ali, radio talk show presenter, Joshua Sang, and Head of the Civil Service, Francis Muthaura, as chief suspects, accused by the ICC of masterminding the post-election violence of 2007-2008.
A source at the Office of the President said Kibaki accepted a request by the Prime Minister for the reshuffle.
"Following the Prime Minister’s request, the President proposed to Raila that Ruto be returned to the Cabinet following his acquittal over corruption charges by the High Court," said the letter.
They then agreed to seek the opinion of the Attorney General on the issue before conducting the reshuffle.
Permanent Secretary Francis Muthaura on May 19, requesting to confirm if Ruto had any other pending cases, then wrote to Attorney General, Amos Wako.
In the letter sent under confidential cover, Muthaura said: "Please treat this as urgent."
On May 24, Wako forwarded the same letter to the Chief of Public Prosecutions (CPP) Keriako Tobiko asking for more information on Ruto.
"Let me know urgently if there is any pending case against Hon Ruto," wrote Wako, eliciting a response the following day from the CPP that from their records, there were no pending criminal cases against Ruto.
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga had reportedly agreed to ‘re-organise’ Government and to also fill three vacant Cabinet posts, before they disagreed on the fate of Ruto.
Raila’s concernsIt is said the issue arose at a closed-door meeting between the two principals on April 28; a day after the PM on arrival from a two-week overseas trip had alluded to a pending Cabinet reshuffle.
Wako, in handwritten instructions on the letter, directed Chief Public Prosecutor (CPP) Keriako Tobiko on May 24 to "let me know urgently if there is any pending case against Hon Ruto".
In response a day later, Tobiko told Wako: "From our records there there are no pending criminal cases against Hon Ruto."
The letter was stamped and received at the AG’s Chambers on May 25.
Last month The Standard reported on a looming Cabinet reshuffle after the President and PM agreed on a raft of issues, among them re-organisation of the Government. It was understood Raila raised concerns about incessant bickering in political parties and how it had affected the running of Government.
Sources said the PM has been uncomfortable with the probable return of Ruto to Cabinet despite acquittal on corruption charges that had led to his removal.
On arrival from a two-week trip to the United States and France, Raila on April 27, said a reshuffle was in the offing, but declined to specifically address Ruto’s fate.
"A Cabinet reshuffle is the work of the Executive. That will be done soon. I do not want to talk about individuals because this country is greater than any individual," said the PM.
The PM then met with President Kibaki in a closed session thereafter, heightening speculation. President Kibaki suspended Ruto last October as he faced trial over alleged impropriety in the 2001 sale of 100 acres (40 hectares) of land outside Nairobi. The court, however, acquitted him of the charges citing lack of evidence.
Legal blockBesides the Higher Education portfolio, the Industrialisation and Foreign Affairs dockets have been without substantive ministers alongside some assistant ministerial posts.
The chapter on integrity in the Constitution requires public officials facing criminal cases to vacate office until the cases are concluded.
Other than Ruto and Kosgey, Sirisia MP Moses Wetang’ula had quit last year from his Foreign Affairs post, which has since been overseen by Internal Security Minister George Saitoti.
Wetang’ula was forced to step aside in October to allow investigations into the controversial deals involving purchase and sale of diplomatic property in overseas missions.
With the unrelenting wave of defections by Rift Valley MPs to Ruto’s camp, Agriculture Minister Sally Kosgei also jumped ship and resigned from her position as Deputy Leader of Government Business without the PM’s approval.
But Dr Kosgei attributed her resignation to the need to concentrate on her duties as Agriculture minister only to later demean the ministerial flag as only good for helping her evade traffic jams. She has since apologised publicly for the slur.
Other sources in ODM, however, argued that Ruto could not be reinstated because he has pending hearings at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in September.
After ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo named the six suspects last December President Kibaki took full advantage of the pressure it created on Raila by declaring the six innocent until proved guilty, resisting pressure by the civil society to sack them.
First reshuffle
An elaborate reshuffle would be the first since the 40-member coalition Cabinet was named in April 2008, following the peace deal that ended the violence in the aftermath of the disputed 2007 presidential vote.
After the ‘Yes’ side triumphed with the ratification of the new Constitution, there were speculation ministers who defied the President and PM to lead the ‘No’ campaign, led by Ruto, would be purged from Government.
But in the reshuffle last August, Ruto and Information and Communication minister Samuel Poghisio retained their dockets. However, Naomi Shaban swapped places with Esther Murugi to take up the Gender and Children docket. Murugi was moved to Special Programmes. Chirau Ali Mwakwere made a comeback to Cabinet as Trade minister with Amos Kimunya being moved to the Transport docket.
Makwere had been Transport Minister until February of that year when the court nullified his election as Matuga MP. He regained the seat in the ensuing by-election.
The reshuffle affected five ministers – ministries of East African Community, Fisheries Development, Special Programmes, Youth and Sports and Gender and Children.
Other changes
Apart from sacking Keiyo South MP Jackson Kiptanui from his post as Environment Assistant Minister, Raila transferred Kingi from the Ministry of East African Community to Fisheries. The reshuffle was the second in four months. On April 21, Ruto (Agriculture) had swapped places with Dr Sally Kosgei (Higher Education) in a reshuffle that saw his ally Charles Keter (Belgut) sacked as Energy Assistant Minister, and replaced by Kipkelion MP Magerer Lagat.
The only other major reshuffle had been in January 2009, when Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta was named Finance minister.
Bureti MP Franklin Bett elevated to Minister of Roads, succeeding former Kipkelion MP Kipkalia Kones, who died in a plane crash.
In the changes, Kimunya returned to the Cabinet six months after MPs had censured him over the sale of Grand Regency Hotel during his tenure as Finance minister. Kimunya replaced Uhuru at the Ministry of Trade.