By OTIENO OTIENO

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Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto’s aborted trip to Uganda could reignite calls for his impeachment by the group of ruling party Members of Parliament and Senators opposed to his presidential ambitions.

Immigration officials at Nairobi’s Wilson Airport blocked Dr Ruto from travelling to the neighbouring country on grounds he didn’t have a clearance from the Ministry of Interior.

The Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho in several TV interviews on Wednesday defended the decision, saying the Deputy President did not produce ‘some necessary documents.’

But Dr Ruto maintains he does not need official clearance to make private visits, telling a radio interview the airport debacle was meant to embarrass him and frustrate his campaign to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta in the 2022 elections.

The two leaders have fallen out, with President Kenyatta expected to back former prime minister Raila Odinga or another candidate against his deputy in his succession race.

Although Dr Ruto has been frozen out of power for much of the current administration’s second term starting 2018 and has shifted his loyalty to a breakaway, he cannot be fired by the president under the provisions of the 2010 Constitution.

He has also ignored calls to resign by politicians loyal to President Kenyatta for publicly trashing the policies of the government he still serves in technically, prompting suggestions he should be impeached.

An impeachment motion would most likely fail, given that it would require a vote by two-thirds of members in both the National Assembly and the Senate.

On Thursday, Dr Ruto appeared to be showcasing his support in parliament in case of an impeachment attempt after hosting about 100 MPs affiliated to his new political party, the United Democratic Alliance, at his official residence in Nairobi.

But his critics have also been hard-pressed to link him with any serious impeachable offence.

The Constitution sets a high threshold for impeaching a Deputy President, requiring a motion to prove a gross violation of the supreme law or any other law, a crime under national or international law or gross misconduct.

Official sources quoted in the media in the wake of Dr Ruto being blocked from flying out by immigration officials sought to link him with serious national security protocol breaches, question the activities of a Turkish national in his entourage and raise suspicions about his private meetings with officials of another country.

Dr Ruto’s visit to Uganda in July, which included a private meeting with President Yoweri Museveni, stirred speculation in the local media about the long-serving leader’s possible interest in the outcome of Kenya’s election.

Kenyan officials didn’t raise any concerns about the meeting publicly.