Kenya Insights

Tag: DP William Ruto

  • Water PS Irungu secretly ditching Kieleweke for Ruto’s Tangatanga

    Water PS Irungu secretly ditching Kieleweke for Ruto’s Tangatanga

    Water and Sanitation PS Joseph Irungu who is positioning himself to be the next governor of  Murang’a in 2022 is ditching President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Kieleweke wing of Jubilee for the Deputy President William Ruto’s Tanga tanga wing which he has been secretly oiling.

    Irungu is President Kenyatta’s close ally but he has been accused of financing Ruto’s recent visit in Gatanga where he held a major rally at the door steps of Jubilee Vice Chairman David Murathe who is a fierce critic of the Deputy President.

    The secret move to join Tangatanga comes barely two months after another top Murang’a politician Senator Irungu Kang’ata also ditched the president for DP’s camp which seems to be attracting many vocal and influential politicians in the county.

    Both Irungu and Kang’ata are now grooming city lawyer Edward Muriu to dislodge Gatanga MP Joseph Nduati (Kieleweke sympathizer) as the county changes its political tune in favour of  DP William Ruto’s Tangatanga/ hustlers camp.

    But PS Irungu is still not grouping with the Tangatanga camp openly may be till next year when the timing will be perfect to ditch Uhuru’s Kieleweke camp. The PS sent mixed signals when he skipped the session where Murang’a Members of County Assembly (MCAs) voted to pass the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) in presence of his colleagues in the cabinet and Kieleweke outfit.

    He now joins Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, Kandara MP Alice Wahome among other vocal leaders from Mt Kenya who are supporting DP Ruto’s presidential bid including the deep pocketed Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua who is also financing DP’s campaigns.

    The seat is currently held by Governor Mwangi wa Iria who is serving his second and final term but has attracted many top politicians and and civil servants in the county with Iria stressing that he will go for Presidency in 2022.

    So far the seat has attracted up to eight aspirants have expressed their interest to succeed Mwangi wa Iria finishes including Senator Irungu Kang’ata, Murang’a County Woman Representative Sabina Chege and former Planning PS Irungu.

     

     

  • Governor Tunai of Narok kicked out of Ruto’s troubled camp

    Governor Tunai of Narok kicked out of Ruto’s troubled camp

    Narok governor Samuel Ole Tunai has been kicked out of the Deputy President William Ruto‘s camp after the latter endorsed Patrick ole Ntutu to fly the hustler’s flag in 2022 gubernatorial race. Ntutu who is currently serving as the chief administrative secretary in the ministry of Labour does not see-eye- to eye with the governor.

    Tunai is serving his final term that he defended on a Jubilee ticket in the 2017 elections after defeating the same Ntutu who vied on Chama Cha Mashinani and got some 93,628 votes.

    The governor was DP Ruto’s point man in the region but is now skipping his events including a fundraiser in aid of Maranatha Church at Enoosaen Girls School in Kilgoris constituency where Ruto was the chief guest.

    Tunai has not endorsed anyone to succeed him but individuals have lined up including Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina, Devolution principal secretary Charles Sunkuli, Narok South MP Korei ole Lemein, Narok West Mp Gabriel Tongoyo, and Woman Representative Soipan Kudate.

    DP Dr William Ruto (c), S Ole Tunai (left) and Kajiado Governor Ole Lenku in a past event [p/courtesy]
    The governor began sending mixed signals to the Tangtanga camp when he became a member of the BBI campaign team when he was expected to lead the Maasai community in rejecting the Building Bridges Initiative.

    He failed to show up when Baringo Senator Gideon Moi who is Ruto’s rival was in Narok to drum up support for the document but he shocked everyone when he attended the launch of the BBI signature collection drive at KICC, an event that was presided over by President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga but skipped by DP Ruto.

    Irritated by endorsement

    Governor Tunai felt disrespected when the Deputy President endorsed Ntutu during the burial of his mother, Nalangu Ntutu without consulting him. The vocal Ruto also purported that issues between the Tunai and Ntutu had been ironed out as he praised the CAS for unifying and developing Narok county.

    The DP even assured the mourners that Tunai will hand over the leadership to the former Narok West MP as he continues to position gubernatorial candidates in his Rift Valley backyard ahead of next year’s general elections.

    Tunai worked as a National Intelligence Service officer till he was elected as the first governor of Narok on United Republican Party ticket in 2013. He now remains a die hard follower of Kieleweke where he can be promised a parastatal job should they form the next government.

  • What Ruto means with his ‘plastic support’ for the BBI document

    What Ruto means with his ‘plastic support’ for the BBI document

    The politics around the handshake and BBI were designed to corner the Deputy President Dr. William Ruto as the enemy of ‘unity’ as well as to paint him as a very corrupt politician.

    That resulted to the continued bitter bickering between DP Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga who are likely to face off in the 2022 elections.

    But Ruto made a peculiar shift from opposing to supporting BBI report, making BBI a document that will just pass without ‘juice’. Exactly what Raila and Uhuru had not planned for, they have been left punching the air.

    He will miss BBI rallies and at the same time deny his enemies the opportunity to use the rallies as a major scheme to gauge Raila’s sway ahead of 2022 since majority may not participate except some few sycophants who will rise and vote it.

    Appearing to support the document also saves the DP’s 2022 budget that President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga had trapped him to waste on leading No campaigns but hustlers are known for avoiding impulse at all costs.

    Ruto is also ‘supporting’ the document fully aware that it was set to act as Raila’s springboard to 2022 presidential race with the secretariat already headed by Raila’s Mohamed Junet.

    Plots are also underway to have the secretariat turned into Raila’s 2022 campaign secretariat, meaning Ruto cannot be ‘a legit member’ of that team.

    The possible beneficiaries of a million positions Odinga is drumming for in the a bloated executive and parliaments are in there to draft how senior positions will be shared thereafter.

    The DP has been reading too much mischief in BBI to give it ‘a legit support’, he even called for reviews but Uhuru and Raila gave called him a bluff.

    He will take a low profile once the campaigns kick off to force Uhuru and Raila to hawk BBI to the less interested public.

    Raila Odinga (c) with BBI secretaries Junet Mohamed and Dennis Waweru (right) [p/courtesy]
    Ruto’s camp is also informed that BBI is setting stage for the rigging of the 2022 polls. He cannot vote in a process that is purely designed to shoot down his ambitions.

    Boycotting the referendum will then confuse his enemies who are dying to gauge his strength, an opportunity he will deny them through a low turn-out since no one is opposing Raila’s BBI.

    Having no one to oppose the BBI will have the Uhuru and Raila exposed to explain to the public how the bloated cabinet and decision to hold the referendum amid the covid-19 will benefit this broke country.

    Ruto recently hosted 150 Mps and senators at his Karen residence to make known their irreducible minimums in supporting the unpopular document.

    What Ruto is doing is not any different from what Raila did when boycotted repeat presidential polls in 2017.

    Raila’s baby cry was that the same IEBC that he wants to pass BBI now was against reforms then and that Jubilee had also changed election laws days to election.

    But Ruto is also well aware that the dynasty members will unleash state machinery to force the document through.

    He avoided a gruesome contest to focus on 2022 when he is most likely to face a betrayed, stressed and heartbroken Odinga in the polls.

    This also presents a better opportunity to avoid a direct face off with Uhuru Kenyatta because he still intends to widen the inroads he has made into the president’s backyard in Mt. Kenya region.