![At one TIME, Murathe said he had kept quiet because President Kenyatta had asked his political followers to keep quiet. [PHOTO | FILE]](https://k24.digital/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/MURATHE.jpg)
By George Kebaso
@Morarak
Former Jubilee Party chairman David Murathe has denied claims that President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto entered into a pact that would see the latter supported by the head of state in 2022.
Speaking during an interview on K24’s Punchline , Murathe said Uhuru’s remarks that he would support Ruto for the presidency at the end of his 10-year two terms were mere campaign pronouncements that can be reviewed.
“You have clearly heard the president on many occasions making pronouncements that tells you what is on his mind. For instance, in Nyeri late last year, he said that his pick for president in 2022 will shock you, and last week, you heard him say that he doesn’t care who will be president. This are clear indications that he did not have any MoU with anybody,” he said in an interview with Anne Kiguta.
Reiterating his stance, Murathe went further to state that the 2013 UhuRuto pact was for peace – not for automatic succession. He challenged Ruto to table such an agreement if he has any document.
“The agreement that was put on the table in 2013 was between communities, and in this case, between the Kikuyu and Kalenjin, merely for peace, and not winning an election. We did not have an agreement for individuals,” he said.
The ex-Jubilee official said if at all the political merging between Kikuyus and Kalenjins was about winning an election, then Mt Kenya would have chosen Raila Odinga’s NASA coalition which has an almost similar national appeal with Uhuru or Musalia Mudavadi’s ANC that commands a region with huge population of voters.
In January this year, Murathe resigned from his post as Jubilee Party’s interim vice-chairman, citing the conflict of interest in his bid to block Ruto’s 2022 presidential bid.
He told journalists that he wanted the DP to retire alongside Uhuru come that year.
Murathe explained that it was no longer reasonable for him to attack Ruto as they both sit in the party’s NEC.
Since then, Murathe has been on a political warpath with the DP and his close allies from Mt Kenya region.
He questioned what Ruto would do in 2022 that he has not done for Kenyans since 2013.
“The president has only one vote. Even if he promises to support Ruto, that does not mean Mt Kenya region will vote for Ruto,” he said.
Murathe said Uhuru is not interested in presidency after his term expires stating that the President has on many occasions said it as well.
“The President is more focused on his legacy that is tied in the Big Four agenda, and said as much that for now, politics is not his business. When you interact with a person for a long time, you tend to know what he thinks and believe in,” he added.
Questionable Dam Projects
On the dams project, the two in Elgeyo Marakwet and the one in Makueni, Murathe questioned why is there nothing to show on the ground in the two dams, when there is 20 per cent work that can be seen in Thwake dam.
He accused the DP of influencing the tender to Sinohydro Tianjin Engineering Limited that was the higher bidder by Sh3 billion instead of China Gezhouba Group, the lowest bidder.
“This move cost former Irrigation Principal Secretary Mwangi Nduati his job, merely because someone arm twisted him in order to get a kick back,” he said.
The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) reviewed the contract.
He said following constant questions by the Tanga Tanga group of why the Thwake Dam project where billions of shillings were lost, his only interaction with the project is when the lower bidder came to him and complained. H had nothing to do with the money that was lost.
He said the three governors of the larger Ukambani and other political leaders had bought into the project.
