Mt Kenya leaders vow to back Deputy President William Ruto

Kenya: Mt Kenya leaders have come out to defend Deputy President William Ruto against those fighting him politically and using the case the International Criminal Court (ICC) case.

During a retreat in Nyeri this week, sources says the matter was discussed at length with the leaders insisting that there is need to protect the DP in order to preserve respect to the presidency.

Indeed when the leaders, who included MPs and senators from the vote rich region, emerged from the meeting, they said there was need for them to step up protection of the DP who has been under siege in his Rift Valley backyard and also from the opposition leaders.

“We are telling those people who are used to fighting the Deputy President that undermining him is tantamount to emasculating the presidency,” the MPs said in a statement delivered by Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru.

The leaders also discussed the 2017 election with a resolution to ensure locals are registered as voters with the patron of the group Kiraitu Murungi saying they are targeting a UhuRuto win by a margin of over 60 per cent.

An MP at the retreat also said the leaders were in agreement that they would rally the region behind Ruto in the 2022 election.

“We must ensure that the region returns a favour as Ruto has been instrumental in the election of Uhuru and a major player in the Jubilee government,” said the MP.

The MP said the leaders also agreed, “to continue supporting the DP as he battles the ICC case hanging over his head.”

“There is a general feeling that we have not been aggressive enough on this ICC issue like were when the President still faced the charges. We need to show solidarity with our DP,” the MP revealed.

Other MPs who declined to be quoted for fear of being seen as breaking protocol, said the issue of state appointments was discussed at length with some participants feeling that President Kenyatta was taking them for granted.

“It is a serious issue that needed to be canvassed and members expressed their feelings about the happenings. But of importance to us was the formula being used in resource allocation,” the MP said.

He said most participants in the forum felt that the formula used by the Commission for Revenue (CRA) allocation was “skewed and based on a faulty poverty index report.”

Conveners of the meeting, however dismissed claims that it had a political agenda saying the retreat was aimed at discussing the economic and social problems facing the region.

Mathira MP Peter Weru, who was appointed as the group’s whip, said the meeting discussed how “we can progressively as leaders tackle the issues affecting our people.”
Weru who spoke to The Standard on Saturday confirmed that allocation of resources to the region was not commensurate with what the region was contributing to the economy.

“The view of the majority was that the poverty index report that is heavily relied on resource allocation was deliberately doctored to marginalise the region on the pretext that it is overdeveloped,” said Weru.

Weru’s sentiments were supported by Gichugu MP Njogu Barua, who also said the meeting was also a brainstorming session to find solutions to the problems facing the region.

“That is why we invited experts like Nacada boss John Mututho and Romano Kiome who is an expert in agriculture. They took us through intensive sessions,” said Barua.
They also said Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi was confirmed as the group patron with his Embu counterpart Lenny Kivuti being appointed as treasurer.

Waweru was appointed chairman, Beatrice Nkatha secretary while members of the steering committee would be Weru, Barua, Mukurweini’s Kabando wa Kabando and Nyeri’s Priscilla Nyokabi.

The leaders also promised to play a crucial role in supporting programmes to eradicate the illicit brew menace in the region.