'Partyless' Ruto risks impeachment

 

Once Deputy President William Ruto’s name is struck off the Jubilee register, it would mean he cannot hold any position in the outfit.

However, that will not affect his position as Deputy President in the President Uhuru Kenyatta administration.

A deputy president can only be removed in an impeachment process; grounds for which are specified in the Constitution—being a violation of the supreme law; serious reasons to believe he has committed a crime under national or international law; or for gross misconduct; or incapacity.

However, Ruto’s removal as deputy party leader and subsequent de-registration as party member would be a warning shot; and can signal the start of his removal as deputy president. Losing the party post can be cited as grounds for his removal.

Once the party succeeds in removing him, they can whip members to impeach him. He can only be removed by impeachment.

Removing him as deputy party leader has two effects: first, he will not look at himself as the de facto presidential candidate; the exclusivity of him running under the party’s flag goes.

Former Law Society of Kenya CEO Apollo Mboya.
Image: FILE

Second, he has to look for a party. Kicking him out of Jubilee will be another way of telling him, ‘show us your party’.

Ruto has been playing his cards under the table. After he is kicked out, it will be easy for someone to ask him to tell them which party he belongs to.

Ruto has been operating in a very clever manner by associating with so many parties that it is hard to know which one he intends to use.

The net effect of his removal as deputy party leader is that he cannot vie as a Jubilee presidential candidate in the 2022 general election.

This will definitely destabilise him but you never know what will follow after that.

One may argue that the Jubilee constitution is designed in a way that the party leader and the deputy are joined at the hip but this does not hold.

The party can amend the provision if it is in its interest to remove him.