Ruto’s big fight for survival

Deputy President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga’s sensational remarks have escalated tensions that further polarise the political climate and undermines the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) that’s in the penultimate phase. 

Dr Ruto at the weekend deepened divisions in government by alleging a plot by the deep State to use extrajudicial means to scuttle his presidential bid, a statement that prompted harsh rebuttals from his critics. 

“We are entering a dangerous but decisive phase of this tragedy. The mercenaries have dug in and are daring for a fight. I believe we should determine the time, terms and conditions of engagement,” Raila wrote on tweeter.

Raila’s statement was a response to a post by Prof Makau Mutua who had challenged Ruto to resign, arguing his sensational utterances were an attack on President Uhuru Kenyatta.

War with president

“It’s clear William Ruto is at war with Uhuru Kenyatta. Otherwise how can you accuse your boss of destroying you? It’s time to resign. That’s what Oginga Odinga did under Mzee Kenyatta,” Mutua wrote.

Mutua was responding to an earlier post on Twitter by Ruto, who also spoke out publicly on Saturday during the burial of Sergeant Kipyegon Kenei, a guard at his office who was killed in a murder the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has linked to the Sh39 billion fake arms deal.

“The DCI has been mobilised, for political reasons, to discredit and destroy my office with all manner of nonsense and to bring me down. Those in this scheme are boasting that I will not be there soon. Since the system cannot elect anybody, they can only kill. But there is God in heaven,” Ruto declared.

The DP’s remarks followed Thursday’s press conference by DCI boss George Kinoti during which he disclosed Kenei’s connection to former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa and his associates who are accused of visiting the DP’s office at Harambee House Annex with the two arms dealers eyeing the lucrative weapons deal.

These bitter exchanges further strain relations between the two camps that were already on the war path over BBI rallies, and in particular over the meeting planned for Nakuru on March 21 and which will be a joint forum for the residents of Central and North Rift.

Eldoret meeting off

After the surprise cancellation of the meeting that had been scheduled for Eldoret bringing together the residents of counties in North Rift and merging the same with that of Nakuru, political heat has been building, giving all indications that this could turn out to be an explosive affair. 

The Rift edition of BBI looks to be a tricky ground for Raila’s team as the region is perceived as Ruto’s bedrock. A demand by the DP’s camp that in their rally they will not hand over their memoranda to Raila, as has been happening in the other meetings, and that they will only give it to the chairman of the BBI Steering Committee, Senator Yusuf Haji, has stepped up the supremacy fight.

“The rally will be a shocker. All of us will be there. However, we will hand our memoranda to Haji or his representatives na sio hao wakora,” Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi declared.

Sudi added: “We will be in Nakuru and we are waiting to see if it is an opportunity for the people to give their views or a forum for politicians to play politics. The reason the BBI organisers are scared of the Rift Valley rallies is because of what happened in Meru, where the people said what they want.” 

Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen said the organisers of the meetings now find themselves cornered by a problem that he claims is of their own making, as they have never been inclusive in the manner they have been organising the rallies.

“From the beginning, these meetings have been run in a shadowy manner, with no known centre. It is such a paradox that while the process is supposed to bring us together, some of us are kept in the dark. Ask yourself why the ODM side always appears to be in the know of the plans while we in Jubilee are not,” Murkomen posed. 

Murkomen, who said he had not been contacted for the planning of the region’s meeting despite being a ranking politician, however said he will be attending the Nakuru meeting, but warned that the rally must be devoid of the exclusions that have been witnessed in other areas, if it is to be successful.

“We will not entertain political machinations and apparent settling of political scores as we have witnessed in other rallies. Of course there is a problem somewhere on how these rallies are conducted; why is it that they are meant to attack the DP?” 

Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika said: “We are warning those planning to attend that if they have intentions of provoking the residents of Nakuru and by extension the Rift Valley, then we will not allow this. They should know that they will be attending as invited guests.”

But while the DP’s group has publicly maligned the BBI campaign, dismissing the rallies as Raila’s ODM 2022 election campaigns, it has fallen short of openly leading a rebellion against the drive stemming from Uhuru and Raila’s March 9, 2018 handshake.

Some argue this is partly the case as there is unanimity that there was nothing divisive in the product that came from the Haji team. And critics of BBI also fear being isolated should the constitutional reforms drive become popular.

National Assembly Minority Leader John Mbadi agreed that the document produced had rightly identified areas that needed to be fixed, earning the support of both camps.

Rivals of BBI

“It is mainly because majority of people agree that there are things that need to be fixed. Majority agree on the importance of the handshake apart from some individuals who think that the handshake curtails their path to power. You must be very brave to tell us that you are opposing. Because of lack of an alternative, no one wants to appear to be opposing openly,” said Mr Mbadi.

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja argued that those who would have led a protest against the BBI have found that they are likely to face a serious wave that has already been created in support of some changes and thus fear that they may find themselves isolated by a majority of Kenyans.

He said as was presented, the BBI report had captured the interests of a majority of Kenyans, and thus anyone who is seen as publicly being opposed to the process would be seen as “an enemy of the people”.

“The truth is that there is a lot of insincerity. There are people who are supporting the BBI during the day, but at night they are plotting how to defeat it,” said Sakaja.

He said the open division being witnessed was not on the contents of the BBI, but simply because there are people “who just do not agree”, alluding to the relationship between Raila and Ruto.

Sakaja claimed that the DP was using his allies as proxies to give his preferred positions that have been bordering on opposing the BBI, yet he does not want to come out clear in his rebellion against it.

“Some politicians have decided to go brazen and are openly opposing the BBI terming it a waste of time and such like. It is clear they are speaking what their political leader does not want to openly say, otherwise why has he not corrected them on these positions,” said the senator.

“If there is a politician who is very clear on his messaging, it is the DP, but it is obvious that in this case he is using proxies to send his messages,” he claimed even as he accused Ruto and his team of creating uncertainties as he plays his 2022 political card.

Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr said the only divisions being witnessed at the moment were largely over who was in charge of the process.

He, however, said a rebellion will only be open once the report is condensed into a Bill that will be ready to be presented to County Assemblies and Parliament ahead of the referendum.

“As it is now there is nothing to agree or oppose; the content appears to please both camps. The divergence is about who appears to be in charge of the process and who will finally take credit for it.

“Wait until the report is finally reduced to a Bill; rebellion will sprout from the group that will feel cheated and that is where the real division will take shape,” Kilonzo Jnr said.

Whispers in the night

The senator said it was wrong for the Haji team to allow the process to be hijacked by politicians before they even came out with a draft Bill, saying in the two referenda, such groups came up with draft documents that gave room to a definite public debate, creating camps for the pro-document and those against it.  

Tongaren MP Simiyu Eseli argued there is fear among some politicians that coming out to oppose the BBI process could expose them to retribution.

“They are cowards. We have people who are opposed to BBI but they don’t want to come out early. Most of those who don’t want to come out have skeletons in their closets. They fear that if they come out openly, they may end up being held to account for some of the crimes they may have committed,” said the MP.