Deputy President William Ruto on Tuesday made
a surprise visit to Jubilee Party headquarters but failed to find any of the ruling
party’s officials at Pangani, Nairobi offices.
Ruto looked lonely at the offices as none of
the officials were available to welcome him as he sought to check the party’s preparedness
for a possible dissolution of Parliament and looming by-elections.
He was accompanied by a handful of MP allied
to him led by Langata’s Nixon Korir.
The DP’s aide and self-apointed ‘Hustler
Nation’ spokesman Dennis Itumbi claimed on Twitter that Ruto was there to
supervise its plans ahead of pending by-elections.
“DP @WilliamsRuto at Jubilee Pangani Headquarters to supervise plans by the Party on the scheduled By-Elections....,” he posted.
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Missing at the offices of the ruling party is
yet another clear indication that the deputy president is an unwanted guest in
the party in which President Uhuru Kenyatta is the leader and he is the deputy.
"Jubilee is a national party that is founded on the principles of inclusion, cohesion and transformation of our country. Our politics is driven by ideas that are people-centred. At @JubileePartyK Headquarters in Pangani, Nairobi County, for party matters," he posted on his social media pages after the vist.
Jubilee is a national party that is founded on the principles of inclusion, cohesion and transformation of our country. Our politics is driven by ideas that are people-centred.
At @JubileePartyK Headquarters in Pangani, Nairobi County, for party matters. pic.twitter.com/4h8pczC93Y
The DP has been at loggerheads with Jubilee
secretary general Raphael Tuju and vice chairman David Murathe and have
engaged in ugly exchange of words over the fate of the party.
Ruto recently accused ‘cartels and busybodies’
of hijacking the ruling party amid strong and open opposition within the party to
his bid to inherit the presidency from Uhuru Kenyatta come 2022.
The former Eldoret North MP also admitted,
during an interview on Citizen TV recently, that the party headed by Kenyatta was
dysfunctional and was being poorly run.
Looming mini polls include Msambweni
constituency in Kwale, Kahawa Wendani ward in Kiambu, Dabaso ward in Kilifi,
Kisumu North ward in Kisumu and Wundanyi and Mbale wards in Taita Taveta.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries
Commission (IEBC) is set to hold the elections as soon as the Ministry of Health
releases new protocols for dealing with Covid-19 during the polls.
The poll body rescheduled the by-elections after
the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Kenya and the government introduced strict
regulations barring public gatherings to tame the novel virus.