Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto has welcomed the move by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto to dissolve their parties, saying members are now free to form and join parties of their choice.
However, speaking yesterday at Abosi in Narok County during the burial of Joshua Ngeno Sigilai, Ruto faulted the formation of the Jubilee Party.
"I'm not joining the Jubilee Party because just like Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP), its formation is devoid of consultation," said Ruto.
He said leaders were invited for talks on the pretext of consultations yet the decision to form the party had been already made.
"We have always demanded consultation but no one seems to heed this. What we saw last Tuesday amounted to coercion, not consultation. How do you invite leaders to inform them that a party has already been formed?" posed the governor.
Also present at the event were Narok Governor Samuel Tunai, Senator Stephen Ntutu, and MPs Johana Ngeno (Emurwa Dikirr), Patrick Ntutu (Narok West), Gideon Konchela (Kilgoris), Ken Kiloku (Narok East) and Soipan Kudate (Narok County).
Governor Ruto warned that any political party that will not be committed to devolution in the next general election will be a hard sell.
However, some leaders from the South Rift have stated that the Jubilee Party will receive overwhelming support in the region and cautioned those opposing it that they will be swept into political oblivion.
Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso, Governor Tunai, MPs Bernard Bett (Bomet East), Ronald Tonui (Bomet Central), Ken Kiloku (Narok East), and Kudate have pledged to market the party across the region.
