Deputy President William Ruto campaigns for Jubilee candidate for the
Kericho Senate seat Aaron Cheruiyot at Chepseor Market in Kericho
County. Deputy President William Ruto has asked his Kalenjin supporters
to shield him from his detractors who he said were out to stall his 2022
presidential bid. PHOTO | TOM OTIENO |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
Deputy President William Ruto has asked his Kalenjin supporters
to shield him from his detractors who he said were out to stall his 2022
State House bid as rival political camps campaign in the county ahead
of the March-7 Kericho by-election.
The DP said he was
very close to clinching the presidency, adding that the unity of the
Kalenjin community was intact and indissoluble despite claims by the
Kanu brigade that the South Rift would chart its own political path to
protest over alleged neglect by the Jubilee government.
Speaking
at Sossiot Grounds in Belgut Constituency on Saturday, the DP accused
some Kalenjin leaders of working to undercut him by splitting the Rift
Valley vote at a time when he had convinced other parties including New
Ford Kenya, Ford People and 12 ODM MPs from the coastal region to join
Jubilee Party.
“We are very close to having our turn at
the State House but some foolish leaders from this region are doing
everything to prevent me from taking over from President Kenyatta.
Do
not follow people who are out to divide you and stand by Jubilee. The
difference between us is as day and night,” said the DP who was
campaigning for Aaron Cheruiyot.
As the DP and his
campaign team traversed parts of Bureti, Belgut and Sigowet/Soin
Constituency, the Kanu brigade split into two camps and covered
Kipkelion East, Kipkelion West and Ainamoi constituencies.
Kanu candidate is Paul Sang, a former two-term Bureti MP and Health minister.
ELECTION PROMISES
Mr
Ruto also sought to downplay allegations that the Jubilee government
had failed to fulfil numerous promises it made to the people of the
South Rift, adding that as deputy president, his promises would never go
unfulfilled.
“I am the Deputy President and only President Uhuru Kenyatta is above me in this country.
When
I make decisions on what needs to be done, it will be done. If I said I
will construct a road or a school, that will be done. You only need to
be patient,” said the DP.
The DP announced the start of
construction of a total of 150km of tarmac road in the county and
commissioned a 5,000-litre milk cooler at Sossiot shopping centre.
The official campaign period comes to a close on Saturday, March 4.
The
Kanu brigade is hoping to turn the tables on Mr Ruto during the
by-election to free the Kipsigis, from the Jubilee government, which
they say has done very little to bring development to the South Rift
since taking power in March 2013.
But DP Ruto and his
JAP brigade have fired back, accusing Kanu chairman Gideon Moi and his
supporters of being used by opposition leader Raila Odinga to
disintegrate his Kalenjin support base.
KANU EMERGENCE
Senate Deputy Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen said Kericho would never ditch Jubilee to go back to support Kanu.
The
Elgeyo Marakwet Senator said the alleged division in the Rift Valley
was a mirage, saying the Kalenjin people were fully behind the Deputy
President.
“The stories of the alleged rift in the
valley are untrue. Kericho voters will prove that they are united behind
the President and the DP. Nothing or no one can destroy that unity,”
said Mr Murkomen.
Kanu has received the support of DP
Ruto’s former political allies turned nemeses in the Rift valley; Bomet
Governor Isaac Ruto, Narok Senator Stephen Ntutu and MPs Alfred Keter
(Nandi Hills), Oscar Sudi (Kapseret) and Johana Ng’eno (Emurua Dikir).
With
time running out fast, the candidates and their supporters have gone
out of their way and set up camp in Kericho in a bid to campaign for
their respective candidates.
DP Ruto for instance, in
what seems to be a first in any by-election and in response to the
threat his party faces from Kanu – has spent a cumulative four full days
in the campaign trail.
KALENJIN UNITY
However,
Governor Ruto dismissed the notion of Kalenjin unity in political
matters, adding that it would be wrong for any leader to attempt to use
Kalenjin unity for selfish political gains.
“The people of Kalenjin are already united by a common language, history and culture. Where does the political unity come in?
It
is the right of the people to determine their own destiny without being
herded to go in one direction if that does not favour them all,” he
said.
National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, who
joined the DP despite having vowed to focus on clearing his name after
being mentioned adversely by former Devolution CS Anne Waiguru in an
affidavit which linked him to the Nation Youth Service corruption
scandal, supported the DP’s sentiments.
“Ignore the
petty politics that is being propagated by his opponents in the Rift
Valley. Ruto is the real deal and those who are opposed top his move to
State House are doomed to fail,” said Mr Duale.
On the
other hand, Mr Sudi, a close ally of DP Ruto, said Kericho people would
not blindly support a government which does not develop it, adding that
they would use the Senate by-election to pass a message of disapproval.
Other
leaders who accompanied DP include Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles
Keter, Governor Paul Chepkwony (Kericho) and Cleophas Langat (Nandi),
senators Wilfred Lessan (Bomet), Beatrice Elachi (nominated) and
youthful senators Isaac Melly (Uasin Gishu), Stephen Sang (Nandi) and
former Roads minister Franklin Bett.
National Assembly Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso led more than 10 MPs to the function.
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