National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale has for the first time publicly broken ranks with Deputy President William Ruto as a referendum wave sweeps across the country.
Duale now becomes the highest-ranking official in the Jubilee administration to openly endorse a public vote to alter the country’s system of government. The Garissa Township MP on Friday maintained he will support a referendum to introduce a parliamentary system of government to end what he described as “post-presidential election chaos”
For the past seven years, Duale has been Ruto’s most ardent political foot soldier, with a venomous tongue that has kept the DP’s adversaries at bay.
However, the latest change of tune after initially dismissing constitutional changes signals a new era in his relationship with the Deputy President William Ruto ahead of 2022 polls. “There are some people saying I have differed with the Deputy President William Ruto, “The Deputy President William Ruto is here to convince me. This is Aden Duale, leader of the Majority and MP for Garissa Township. I am an independent person,” Duale said.
“This is my position and I intend to convince the President and the Deputy President that this is the best way to go in order to have a stable country with reduced ethnic tensions.” Duale said Kenya’s problem lies in a presidential system of government that has continued to brew tribal tensions and exclusivity with major tribes controlling both economic and political power.
The lawmaker, who rarely shies away from speaking his mind, said a parliamentary system would address inclusivity, ethnicity and inequality challenges that are bedeviling the country.
Source: The Star Kenya