Kenya's president purges Senate of deputy's allies as rift widens

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta purged the Senate of key leaders aligned with his deputy, William Ruto, and replaced them with his own supporters on Monday, in a move likely designed to curtail Ruto's ambitions to become the next president.

The careers of both men are intertwined with Kenya's history of violent elections. They were key players on opposite sides during post-election violence after disputed 2007 polls, then forged an alliance that propelled Kenyatta to victory in 2013 and again in 2017.

Kenyatta, limited to two five-year terms, cannot stand again in 2022, and Ruto has portrayed himself as heir-apparent. But relations between the two have soured and Kenyatta began purging Ruto's allies from key posts in January in a cabinet reshuffle. Monday's purge clears the way for Kenyatta to push through his legislative agenda more easily.

Kenyatta ally Samuel Poghisio was appointed the new majority leader in the Senate, taking over from Ruto ally Kipchumba Murkomen, the president's office said in a statement. Irungu Kang'ata replaced Susan Kihika, a pro-Ruto senator very critical of Kenyatta, as the new majority chief whip in the Senate. The deputy majority leader and the deputy chief whip were also replaced with Kenyatta loyalists.

Neither Ruto, nor the senators aligned to him, were available immediately for comment. POWER STRUGGLE

The power struggle kicked off after Kenyatta failed to consult Ruto on cabinet appointments and embraced his former rival, veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, in March 2018. But political analysts said the Senate purge was an escalation of tensions that had simmered for months. "The fallout has been very public and very clear for a long time," said George Kegoro, a newspaper columnist. "It (the power struggle) is coming faster than we thought."

Kenyatta promised during the last election that he would support Ruto in 2022 in return for an alliance between Ruto's ethnic Kalenjin community and Kenyatta's Kikiyu ethnic group. But that promise looks increasingly hollow as Kenyatta and Odinga grow closer. Both men are promoting a government initiative to tackle election violence by creating more positions, including a prime minister. Anti-graft activists dismissed the document as merely providing more opportunities for theft in the corruption-prone nation.

Some Kenyans worry that the power struggle is a distraction from the nation's mounting debt load, its corruption scandals, acute economic inequalities, and the growing threat of the new coronavirus crisis, said Kegoro. "Markets and economic players will be wondering what is going to happen to the country in terms of its long-term political stability," said Kegoro.

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