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Bloomberg
Kenya’s ruling party replaced a key parliamentary official on Monday, the latest in a series of leadership changes that have strengthened President Uhuru Kenyatta‘s hold on power and weakened his deputy, William Ruto.
Amos Kimunya, a former finance minister, will replace Aden Duale as the Jubilee Party’s majority leader in the National Assembly, Secretary-General Raphael Tuju said in a text message on Monday. Duale, who has held the post since 2013, is seen as a key ally of Ruto, who has ambitions of succeeding Kenyatta when his second term ends in 2022.
Kenyatta and Ruto joined forces under the Jubilee banner in 2013 — six years after a dispute between them over the outcome of a 2007 election descended into violence.
Their relationship has grown increasingly fractious as the president struck alliances with opposition leaders who are also considered possible presidential contenders.
Kenyatta is in the process of building a coalition ahead of the 2022 vote, and Ruto is being marginalised and his ability to raise campaign funding stymied because he doesn’t fit into the succession plans, according to Nic Cheeseman, professor of democracy and international development at the University of Birmingham in the UK.
The decision to return Kimunya to a senior post 12 years after he was forced from office by corruption allegations “shows how much damage factional politics does to the quality of government,†Cheeseman said.
Agriculture Minister Mwangi Kiunjuri and Sports Minister Rashid Echesa are among almost two dozen other politicians and officials that are seen as close to Ruto and have lost their jobs over recent months. The Senate majority leader and chief whip, as well as house committee chairs and their deputies, have also been replaced.
Kenyatta is pushing for a referendum on constitutional changes that could alter the way the nation is governed. He is barred from seeking a third presidential term and the overhaul could pave the way for him to take on another powerful role.