The DP is fighting political wars on multiple fronts, He is up against Gideon Moi in his Rift Valley backyard,within his ruling party voices of we don’t owe you anything are on a rise with suspicious night meetings and his adversary Raila Odinga and his suicidal supporters.
Kenyans have already talking about the 2022 succession politics after the ‘Golden Handshake’ and the Kabarak drama festival that saw DP Ruto kept waiting for more than two hours after which he was never given the audience he sought from the former President Moi. Raila Odinga on the other had has visited former presidents Moi and Kibaki after the handshake,Oparanya and Joho have declared their interest for the top seat, Wetangula and Mudavadi are on the verge of forming Mulembe National Party whereas Kalonzo Musyoka has rebranded Wiper Democratic Movement to One Kenya Movement .
The dynamics have changed. Raila Odinga has once again proven public discourse revolves around him, he has already warmed up the country for a referendum to change the constitution before the 2022 general elections, the country is already on a political mood with political temperatures on the rise courtesy of bitter exchanges between lieutenants of the former Prime Minister and the Deputy President.
The more people talk about 2022 succession politics the more they irritate the Deputy President William Ruto . Simply because nothing positive comes from it whereas all his actions come in handy with faults degrading his will to be the fifth president of the republic of Kenya.
His latest action that was received with utmost animosity was his condolence note to the Kenneth Matiba’s family. With the demise of Kenneth Matiba, a renowned politician who fought for multi-party in particular and Kenya’s second liberation in general, handful of Kenyans on twitter accused William Ruto of being a hypocritical by mocking him with the famous “Mama, they are here” phrase that was crafted by South African activist Julius Malema during Winnie Mandela’s tribute.
He was allegedly a leading figure of the infamous YK92 “a paramilitary youth wing under president Moi responsible for intimidating opposition supporters through ethnic cleansing” that was believed to have a hand in detention without trial, torture of most politicians who disagreed with the ruling party. One of the tweets in response to DP Ruto’s condolences note to Matiba’s family, “he is now heaping praise on Kenneth Matiba the man he helped torture, detain and drive to penury, this guy has no morals.”
However, those allegations have not been proven legally as YK92 was believed to be a campaign vehicle for the youth to endorse Moi’s KANU in the 1992 multiparty elections.
Lately every action no matter how good it is as long as it has been done by the second most powerful man in Kenya it draws more criticism than compliments. It is understandable that DP Ruto was opposition’s enemy numero uno , however, after the famous Harambee House handshake, Ruto has drawn more enemies from within his party as witnessed when a section of Mt. Kenya politicians publicly dismissed their support for Ruto’s presidential aspirations and most of his disciples are suspicious that the unpredictable Raila who is the enigma of Kenyan politics is cooking something behind the unity pact.
Recently, Raila’s visit to President Moi’s home in Kabarak brought about speculations that the three royal families that have been the stewards of Kenyan politics from independence are plotting to block Ruto’s possible chance of becoming president. Why are Ruto’s supporters and Lieutenants frustrated by Raila’s visiting Moi? The answer is very clear most of the Kalenjin state machinery, Kalenjins in government position are there courtesy of the former president goodwill, he still has deep roots in all government instititutions.
“DP William Ruto is the first son of a peasant father to have a realistic chance to become Kenya’s president in 2022. In the past three months, the royal dynasties of Kenyatta, Odinga and Moi seem united in handshakes to remind Ruto that they are unprepared for a rubble becoming a king,” Senior Counsel Ahmednassir wrote on his twitter handle. In other words, Ahemdnassir who was in Jubilee defense in the presidential election petition, affirms that there is an effort by the three dynasties to frustrate Ruto’s ambitions of becoming president.
Elgeyo Marakwet senator Kipchumba Murkomen has continued to lead a battalion of Rift Valley legislators in an onslaught against Gideon Moi, son to former president Daniel Moi to shelve his ambitions since there is only one lion in the rift that is non-other than William Ruto despite the fact that Gideon Moi has not officially revealed his intentions to go for top seat in the 2022 elections apart from speculations. On the other side where he was expecting unconditional support in return, people are non-committal on returning back the ‘favor’ that saw the DP deliver votes for Uhuru twice in the Rift Valley. The big question amongst Kikuyu elites, the Mount Kenya Mafia remains does the Agikuyu community owe DP Ruto anything?
“I don’t owe Ruto any debt. If Ruto wants me to vote for him not because he qualifies to be president but because I am a Kikuyu and he is a Kalenjin and the two communities are in political coalition not for the good of the two communities but for the aggrandizement of their leaders,” wrote Koigi Wa Wamwere, “ Ruto would also want me to vote for him because he voted for Uhuru as president and every kikuyu therefore owes him a debt of gratitude for which they must pay or be shown the door out of Rift Valley.”
Surprisingly, such thoughts come after Uhuru Kenyatta has secured his second term in office. Most people were quick to praise him for being independent minded but the big question how did Wamwere vote in Uhuru with Ruto as his deputy? Therefore, according to Wamwere Ruto qualifies to be a deputy president but not a president. With such a notion being peddled now will see few or no Kikuyu at all supporting William Ruto’s 2022 presidential bid as a consequence Ruto would solely have support from his backyard.
In politics, you must always know when the juice is worth squeezing. In order to actualize his dream of becoming president, Ruto should be in process of forming new political alliances as early as now. He can fish out Joho and Oparanya who are Odinga’s deputies in ODM alongside Cleophas Malala and Edwin Sifuna.Alternatively he can reach out to his friend senator James Orengo who can organize for a handshake between him and Raila Odinga. Considering how Kenyan politicians lack ideologies to stand for, it won’t come as a surprise if Ruto teams up with fallen pieces in NASA to form another political party before or after the referendum.
This makes 2022 Elections a battle between a self-proclaimed hustler against the dynasties, only time will tell……
