Ruto in frantic bid to stem primaries revolt

URP leader William  Ruto addresses Eldoret residents. [PHOTO: FILE]

By County Weekly Team 

KENYA: Uhuru Kenyatta’s running mate William Samoei Ruto is crafting a new political game plan to contain fallout from the recently concluded primaries that threatens to unravel the ‘six-piece’ voting pattern that the United Republican Party (URP) had envisioned for the Rift region.

Alarmed by failure by some of his trusted allies to clinch nomination in the URP primaries and rattled by the forceful return of former ruling party Kanu into the arena, Mr Ruto has been burning the midnight oil with top aides planning how to deliver the Rift Valley vote as a solid bloc.

Mr Kenyatta, the Jubilee alliance flag bearer, is banking on him to bag the more than two million votes in the region.

Analysts who spoke to The County Weekly however believe the fallout witnessed in parts of the region following the URP nominations could affect the solid support Mr Ruto previously enjoyed in the region unless he works hard to reconcile losers and winners.

“Some of his allies such as the former Konoin MP Dr Julius Kones who have decamped to Peter Kenneth’s Kenya National congress Party (KNC)   could affect Jubilee’s hitherto smooth ride in the region,” says Dr James Tilitei, a political scientist.

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Scheming

He adds: “It will not be as smooth as before because Cord presidential candidate Raila Odinga is also spending sleepless nights scheming how to get a chunk of the Rift Valley vote.”

Sources say Mr Ruto is working on a new team of campaigners comprising both the old guard who survived the onslaught and new faces such as lawyer Kipchumba Murkomen.

Mr Ruto is considered the towering figure in the region’s politics, which is largely inhabited by the Kalenjin ethnic group.

The main sub-tribes are the Nandi, Kipsigis, Keiyo, Marakwet, Tugen, Pokot and Sabaot.

Since reintroduction of multi-party politics, the community has regularly voted as a bloc, as exhibited during the 2007 elections when it overwhelmingly voted for ODM and its then presidential candidate, Mr Odinga.

In Baringo County, the new faces who will be key in selling URP and to a large extent the Jubilee coalition are Reverend Bishop Jackson Kosgei, who is vying for the senate seat and gubernatorial aspirant Ben Cheboi.

Rev Kosgei is a close ally of Mr Ruto and during the International criminal Court (ICC) pre-trial hearings, he appeared as a witness for him.

The cleric, who surprised many when he garnered over 66,000 votes in the just-concluded party primaries to clinch the URP Senate nomination, is known for his oratory skills that will come in handy for the party, which is facing stiff competition from Kanu.

Mr Cheboi, who will be gunning for the gubernatorial seat on a URP ticket, is also be a key ally for Mr Ruto in Baringo County.

The former Higher Education Loans Board CEO has a huge following especially from university students, who are expected to constitute a critical voting bloc.

Limelight

In Kericho County, Mr Ruto will be relying on   former Moi University don Prof Paul Chepkwony, who is vying for the gubernatorial seat.

Mr Chepkwony came into the national limelight during the ICC pre-trial hearings when he appeared as the first witness for radio journalist Joshua arap Sang, who is accused of crimes against humanity alongside Mr Ruto.

His influence in local politics and his close relationship with Mr Ruto will come in handy in consolidating votes for Jubilee alliance.

Tall order

Other Ruto allies who are expected to help him keep Cord and Amani coalitions at bay include former Belgut MP Charles Keter and his Chepalungu counterpart, Isaac Rutto who scored big in the nominations.

One of Mr Rutto’s key assignments is to unite URP supporters in Bomet County following divisive nominations.

Mr Keter, a key point man of Mr Ruto in South Rift, was among the first politicians in the region to bolt out of ODM and join United Democratic Movement (UDM) led by General (rtd) John Koech. But when the deal with the new party went sour, he became of the founders of URP.

Mr Keter is expected to use his influence and political experience to win votes for Jubilee alliance in the region.

Former Ainamoi MP Benjamin Lang’at is another Ruto ally who is expected to garner support for the Jubilee alliance.

Mr Lang’at, who is seeking to retain the Ainamoi seat, beat two other aspirants to clinch the URP ticket.

Mr Ruto is also relying on Narok to help Mr Kenyatta win the Rift Valley votes. While URP is counting on Samuel Ole Tunai for the gubernatorial seat, ODM is relying on Johnson ole Nchoe, who clinched the governor’s ticket after trouncing Stephen ole Nkoitoi in a hotly contested nomination race.

Observers say that Narok will throw up mixed results with URP’s chances of clinching any seat remaining at 50:50.

According to Daniel ole Tome, a local analyst, a number of factors among them clan, tribe and choice of candidates during the primaries might conspire to make URP’s chances of winning any seat in the region a tall order.

“It will not be about parties but people will be keenly watching to see how the various candidates plan to cater for their interests and which candidate can marshal support from the Kalenjin and the Maasai clans,” says Mr Tome.

Bring down

Former Tourism assistant minister Stephen ole Ntutu has secured the URP ticket and is expected to spearhead Mr Ruto’s interests in the area.

But all is not well in Elgeyo Marakwet, where aspirants floored in the concluded party nominations are realigning themselves in a bid to bring down the winners in the General Election.

Some of the losers claim they were rigged out and have joined rival political parties with the aim of denying their opponents victory.

In Keiyo North Constituency, former MP Lucas Chepkitony and Mark Chesergon, who lost in the URP nominations have joined forces to floor the URP nominee by supporting Mr Chesergon, who has since secured Kanu’s direct nomination.

 Mr Chepkitony, who lost the URP ticket to Dr James Murgor, says: “The nominations were marred by malpractices and there is no need of supporting the winner.”

In Keiyo South constituency, aspirants who lost the URP ticket to Jackson Kiptanui have joined forces and vowed to back a rival candidate.

“The nominations were fraudulent and we shall rally behind the National Vision Party leader as a way of expressing our dissatisfaction with the results,” says Daniel Rono (Kamlesh) says:

 —Reports by Alex Kiprotich, Edwin Makiche, Titus Too and Fred Kibor