A vocal Deputy President William Ruto allied MP has come out to claim that senators who voted to oust Tharaka Nithi senator Kithure Kindiki as senate deputy speaker, were paid.
According to Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri, the senators met at Serena Hotel, where they were given ksh. 100,000 each. He says they were promised to be given the remaining Ksh. 100,000 after their voting.
The vocal Tanga Tanga MP further claims that the entire process in which Prof Kindiki was kicked out was corrupted. He says the senate speaker ignored the voting procedure, where the senators use a special voting system to cast votes, and opted for verbal voting.
According to Ngunjiri, the senators who voted yes rushed quickly after the process, to pick their remaining balance that they had been promised.
He further accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of bringing in their political enemy, the ODM party leader Raila Odinga, to cause troubles in the ruling party. Ngunjiri says that it is President Kenyatta who taught them how to abuse Raila at the time he was fully in opposition.
Kindiki was on Friday last week ousted after a heated debate.
Out of the total 67 senators, 54 voted to kick out the deputy speaker who they accused of party disloyalty and disrespect to the party leader.
At least 26 of senators from the minority side voted in favour of his removal. Only two, Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula and Nominated Judith Pareno did not cast their votes because they were not in the House.
However, Mr Wetangula, who is on a mandatory quarantine after his brother died of Covid19, expressed his support for the removal in a message to Minority leader James Orengo.
Seven senators voted to save Prof Kindiki, a far cry from the tussle of numbers that the pro-Ruto allies have always touted. They were Kipchumba Murkomen, Aaron Cheruiyot, Christopher Langat, Susan Kihika, John Kinyua, Samson Cherargey and Kindiki himself.
