The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) leaders are plotting to file a suit against Cabinet Secretaries for Interior Dr. Fred Matiangi and his IT counterpart Joe Mucheru for openly supporting ODM leader Raila Odinga for the top seat in 2022.
In a letter to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, UDA claims the two cabinet secretaries are central to the preparations for the polls due to their roles in the security and IT dockets and will hold the electoral body accountable incase of any irregularities in next year’s presidential elections.
“We’ll have to pursue this matter through other legal means. IEBC will be held responsible for any bungled electoral process,” said UDA chairperson Johnson Muthama.
The party now wants Dr. Mucheru and Dr. Matiangi kicked from the government for allegedly violating the leadership and integrity Act by taking sides in political campaigns.
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“UDA might be compelled to file a lawsuit against state servants violating the Leadership and Integrity Act. The law compels state servants to act in a neutral manner,” Muranga Senator Irungu Kangata said.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati acknowledged the letter and assured UDA, through its Secretary-General Veronica Maina on November 5th that all State officers and public officials are required by law to uphold political neutrality.
“The provisions of the constitution, the Public Officers Ethics Act, 2003 and the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012 prohibit State officers and Public officers from engaging in any political activity that may compromise the neutrality of the office they hold,” he stated.
“We wish to observe that whereas Section 23 of the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012 seems to give Cabinet Secretaries and County Executive Committee Members a lifeline to engage in political activity, that statutory provision no doubt falls foul of the Constitutional underpins under Chapter Six of the Constitution. There is need for all State officers and Public Officers to uphold political neutrality.”
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Dr. Fred Matiang’i’s security docket is vital in the management of elections, while CS Mucheru’s ICT ministry controls telecommunication organisations, like the Communications Authority, that are crucial in electronic transmission of votes.
