Deputy President William Ruto’s allies in Mt Kenya counties have launched a plan to reach out to Members of County Assemblies (MCAs).
This push also targets Nairobi and some parts of the Rift Valley, according to insiders.
The counties have been clustered in groups of three with Meru, Isiolo and Tharaka Nithi forming the first group that had an inaugural meeting on Saturday.
The next meeting to be held this weekend will involve Kiambu, Nairobi, Murang’a, Kirinyaga and Embu while the last meeting at Nyahururu town on January 23 will be targeting MCAs in Nyeri, Nyandarua, Nakuru and Laikipia.
Forty-two Meru MCAs attended the meeting alongside five from Isiolo, five from Tharaka Nithi, and 19 from Kirinyaga. There were also a couple of MCAs from Nyeri and Kiambu. MPs Rahim Dawood (North Imenti) and Josephat Gichunge (Tigania West) also attended.
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Notably though, when Dawood announced during the press briefing that he supported both the BBI and Ruto's 2022 presidential bid, there were indistinct murmurs from the group that this was not possible.
Kirinyaga Majority Leader James Murango and Tharaka Nithi MCA Susan Ngugi claimed ward reps who wanted to support Ruto's 2022 candidature had been muzzled by the system.
“We felt we were being left behind by a bus that had already left the station,” said Murango.