This archive report was first published on 31 July 2019.
On July 31, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee Party declared its support for a radical court ruling that requires governors facing graft charges to vacate office.
According to Jubilee Party secretary-general Raphael Tuju, the ruling is a progressive decision that will no longer allow the Judiciary to be used as a hideout by the corrupt.
Tuju stated that even the party will not be a refuge for the corrupt, emphasizing that all Jubilee candidates signed to adhere to the integrity codes before the election, which include zero tolerance to graft.
The Jubilee constitution preamble, unveiled by Tuju on Tuesday, reads: “A pledge and a commitment to fight and eliminate corruption and incidental vices at all levels of government and institutions of government”.
The decision is a shocker for county chiefs, coming at a time when the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission is hunting down several governors. Several governors have been shaken to the core, and two Jubilee governors, Waititu and Samburu’s Moses Lenolkulal, have already been fallen.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has often accused the Judiciary of being a stumbling block in the graft war by issuing “lenient bail terms”.
Justice Mumbi Ngugi ruled that governors charged with corruption should stay away from their offices and their roles completely taken over by their deputies for the duration of the trial.
She stated that Section 62(6) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, which state officers have been using to hang onto office, “entrenches corruption and impunity in the land”.
Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu was denied access to his office over graft charges, and the decision effectively makes James Nyoro, with whom Waititu has been embroiled in nasty squabbles, the de facto Kiambu county chief.
