Gideon: I won't be distracted by chest-thumping loud minority

Baringo Senator Gideon Moi (center) Flanked by from left Isiolo Deputy Governor Abdi Issa, Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui, Baringo Governor Stanley Kiptis and Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi with other leaders addressing the press at Lake Bogoria SPA in Baringo county. [Kipsang Joseph,Standard]

Kanu Chairman Gideon Moi yesterday said he will not be bothered by chest-thumping political leaders in his 2022 political matrix.

Gideon said the politicians, who he described as a loud minority, will not stop his agenda. He said he will instead work with a group of leaders he described as a silent majority.

“In my politics, I have no business with the loud minority. My focus is on the silent majority. The future is bright,” said the Baringo Senator, without naming personalities, during the funeral of Susana Kabilo Tiren, the mother of Moiben MP Silas Tiren in Arbabuch, Uasin Gishu County.

The late Susana, who was a prominent farmer in Moiben, died on September 6, aged 105.

The Kanu chairman told Kenyans to wait for a major political announcement next month.

“There is a major political announcement in October. The announcement will strike like lightning. We are currently seriously weighing our options,” Gideon said after a rousing reception by supporters.

He said issues bedeviling the maize sector will be a priority in his agenda.

On the recent increase in fuel prices, he said it will hit food production hard, especially in maize-growing areas. “There is a need for sound policies and directives in the increase of prices of fuel. There are mechanisms that the government can put in place to ensure that we have stable fuel prices that are within range,” he said.

Gideon assured farmers that the government would stabilise maize prices this season. He said he will lead farmers’ representatives to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta over poor prices. “We want to bring back guaranteed minimum return mechanism in maize. We don’t want cases of farmers investing in production and end up being subjected to poor prices during harvest, and farmers can’t move forward,” he said.

Soy MP Caleb Kositany asked legislators to amend the law, which allowed the Treasury to increase taxes on petroleum products.

“We must stand up as leaders. The fuel prices shot up because of the 2018 Finance Bill. We must review the Bill when Parliament resumes sittings,” said Kositany.

Also present were Uasin Gishu Senator Margaret Kamar, her Elgeyo Marakwet counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen, Governor Jackson Mandago (Uasin Gishu) and Alex Tolgos of Elgeyo Marakwet.

Others were MPs Joshua Kutuny (Cherangany), William Chepkut (Ainabkoi), Daniel Rono (Keiyo South) and Oscar Sudi (Kapseret).

The leaders called for unity and tolerance of divergent political views ahead of next year’s elections. “As political leaders from the Rift Valley region, we must be tolerant and respect each other despite political inclinations,” said Chepkut.

Senator Kamar eulogised the late Susana as a determined and hard-working farmer.

Elsewhere, the Baringo Senator has emphasised the importance of establishing more education facilities in counties hit by a wave of cattle rustling in the Rift Valley.

“Literacy levels among our communities remain relatively low. Education will change their perspective of life. They will learn of the opportunities outside the region and beyond local economic activities,” said Gideon.

He added that cultivating a culture of peace from a tender age will pacify the region in the long term.

“We want to have our future generations to grow up looking at each other as brothers. This begins in schools where the children can freely interact without ethnicity and other differences,” he said.

He was speaking when leaders from conflict-prone counties of Laikipia, Baringo, Isiolo and Samburu met at the Lake Bogoria Spa Resort under the Amaya Triangle Initiative (ATI).

“It is unacceptable that Kenyans are in conflict with each other at this age. We have to see short term and long term solutions. Changing economic model of their livelihood will be critical in building peace,” said Gideon.

Governors Lee Kinyanjui of Nakuru, Ndiritu Muriithi (Laikipia), Stanley Kiptis of Baringo and Isiolo Deputy Governor Abdi Issa urged the Treasury to release conditional grants.

The Sunday Standard established that the four counties are seeking Sh6 billion in peace and development grants. “The grant will be used in establishing schools, markets, feed lots and improving trading centres that fall on border areas,” said a source at the meeting.

Governor Kinyanjui emphasised the need to find sustainable peace. “Peace has no borders and conflict may move to where peace is. Nakuru remains an active participant in seeking solutions to challenges facing the disturbed counties,” he said.

Added Isa: “We call on pastoralists from other counties who have invaded people’s farms to return to their respective counties. We urge the government to fully enforce law and order.”

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