Disquiet has rocked the union between President William Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over the distribution of key government appointments.
Despite Nyeri governor Mutahi Kahiga’s remarks over an alleged scheme to sideline the Mount Kenya region, the President and his deputy have since managed to show a good working relationship image.
Kahiga had disclosed that certain individuals have been trying to foment distress between the two leaders.
Sources in the inner circle of the Kenya Kwanza administration indicate that the division between the two intensified during the nomination of Principal Secretaries (PS), when they each drew their own list of preferred nominees for consideration by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The differences brought about the revision of the shortlist, forcing an addition 0f 108 individuals to the 477 shortlisted individuals to 585 nominees.
Gachagua is said to be rooting for an equal share of slots for his Mt Kenya region in all appointments causing President Ruto’s allies from regions outside his Rift Valley home to miss out on major appointments made.
Both President Ruto and Gachagua’s backyards each got 13 PS nominees out of the 51 names submitted to Parliament for vetting.
On the other hand, the dividing of the PS nominees has caused petitions filed in court by the Law Society of Kenya among others to seek the withdrawal of the list and order PSC to redo selection of the candidates.
In the petition, LSK argued that in the list submitted to Parliament, thirteen of the nominees are from members of the Kalenjin community of the Rift Valley region and 13 others from Central Kenya region, to the prejudice of the other 40 tribes and communities depicting regional imbalance.
Following a court order to cease the ongoing PS vetting, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula suspended the process immediately.
