President’s allies write letter, tell off Tanga Tanga

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s allies have dismissed a letter penned by a section of Mt Kenya leaders criticising the president over his leadership.

Responding to Jubilee’s Tanga Tanga faction letter, the MPs from the Kieleweke wing accused their colleagues of undermining the president.

In the letter signed by 41 legislators from Mt Kenya, Nairobi and Rift Valley allied to Deputy President William Ruto, the MPs decried what they termed as poor state of the economy, betrayal of the DP, political persecution and Uhuru’s Handshake with ODM leader Raila Odinga.

The leaders warned that the region will remain restless, dissatisfied and defiant.

In response, 60 Kieleweke MPs also wrote to the president, accusing their rivals of joining Ruto to undermine him.

“In 2017, all politicians from Mt Kenya region were unanimous in their commitment to give you ample time to fulfil your pre-election pledges to our people. It is now clear that our Tanga Tanga brothers had a sinister agenda when this declaration was made and they have never meant well for your Presidency,” reads the letter.

They cautioned Uhuru that Ruto was keen on dethroning him from being the Mt Kenya kingpin, despite him being given the benefit of the doubt in 2013.

Benefit of doubt

“We gave your Deputy the benefit of doubt in 2013 when we let him to insert his head into our Mt Kenya house. ...He wants to dethrone you from the Mt Kenya kingpin and evict every one of us...,” the letter reads.

Among those who signed the letter are MPs Kanini Kega (Kieni), Ngunjiri Wambugu (Nyeri Town), Maoka Maore (Igembe North) and Nduati Ngugi (Gatanga).

They accused their counterparts of propagating the hustler narrative, which they said created an impression of “us versus them”. They said this was dangerous for the country and a recipe for violence.

“The people propagating threats of violence are Tanga Tanga. They are the ones who have created an Us Vs them political matrix where they have been inciting the rich versus the poor. This is a dangerous narrative that could cause untold violence at the very local level,” the leaders said.

On Tanga Tanga’s claims that they were being targeted by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the National Police Service over their political stand, the Kieleweke team said politicians were not special and that every person will take personal responsibility for their actions.

The legislators defended the president on claims that he was marketing ODM leader Raila Odinga and wanted to support his 2022 presidential bid, reminding the Tanga Tanga faction that Uhuru has never told them to market Raila in Mt Kenya region.