David Murathe, the Jubilee Party Vice-Chair has resigned from the post.
The former Gatanga MP who lost his seat to Peter Kenneth in 2002 resigned from his post earlier on Sunday saying he couldn’t continue sitting on the Party’s National Executive Council with DP Ruto.
Lately, the MP who was today described as a “political reject” by Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika has been in the frontline saying that the Deputy President has already served two terms. He has threatened to go to court to block the DP’s Presidential bid.
“Section 148 of the Constitution says nobody can run for Deputy President for more than two terms. And why does it say that? Because Section 142 also says nobody can run for President for more than two terms, and this presidency is a pair,” Murathe is quoted to have said while addressing mourners in Rarienda during the burial of Jubilee Secretary-General, Raphael Tuju’s brother, Kefa Oduor.
“If for whatever reason the president is not able to carry out his functions, who becomes the president?
“Can the President sack the DP? Can he? So in essence, if he automatically becomes President without going for the mandate of the voter, it means he is still riding on the very first mandate they were given as a pair. Then that is why he can’t run again,” argued Murathe.
David Murathe is a close friend of President Uhuru Kenyatta and many are wondering whether he’s echoing the President especially after the infamous March handshake between the President and opposition leader Raila Odinga. In 1998, as MP for Gatanga, David Murathe and Juja MP Stephen Ndichu had offered to vacate their respective seats for Uhuru Kenyatta, just as James Gichuru had vacated for the senior Kenyatta at the dawn of Independence, for him to qualify to be appointed Vice President of Kenya, and hence stand a better chance of succeeding President Moi in 2002.
Just hours before his resignation, Murathe had come under vocal assault from a number of Jubilee legislators.