William Ruto’s allies fight back as Gideon Moi in drive to revive Kanu

Baringo Senator Gideon Moi is a man on a political mission.

His activities in the Rift Valley and public utterances reveal one goal — to claw back the region from William Ruto’s URP and prepare him for a stab at the Presidency.

Former President Moi’s son has launched a membership recruitment drive for Kanu in the North Rift in an effort to revamp the party to bolster his presidential ambition.

This has rattled the Deputy President’s brigade in URP and the Jubilee coalition, as was evident on Friday when Mr Moi and Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen differed publicly on Rift Valley’s political future.

The two were at a rally in West Pokot County, where Mr Moi, who is the Kanu chairman, asked Mr Ruto to keep off his party’s affairs.

And on Saturday, at least 15 members of Parliament allied to the Deputy President and two senators accused Mr Moi of “using his enormous wealth to cause divisions in the Rift Valley instead of supporting Mr Ruto”.

The MPs were disappointed that the younger Moi was working against Mr Ruto who supported his father.

“I am from Baringo County and the Tugen community is behind Deputy President William Ruto because we appreciate the support other communities offered the retired President for 24 years,” said William Cheptumo, the MP for Baringo North.

Marakwet East MP Kangogo Bowen said Kanu was dead, while William Kisang (Marakwet West) said the Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP) had initiated development in the region that the senior Moi’s regime neglected.

Kericho Senator Charles Keter defended URP’s decision to merge with its coalition partner, President Kenyatta’s The National Alliance, to form JAP.

“People from the Rift Valley say Ruto has mortgaged the Kalenjin community and are asking us questions over the formation of JAP.

“Interestingly, those asking us this are people who are not our party’s members,” said Mr Keter, a fierce defender of Mr Ruto.

TRIGGERED CONFRONTATION

Mr Moi’s quest to revamp Kanu in the Rift Valley, which voted overwhelmingly for Jubilee in the last elections, has triggered a political confrontation with the Deputy President and his allies.

The Kanu chairman is taking advantage of emerging cracks in Mr Ruto’s party in the South Rift and the confusion over the formation of JAP.

In addition, the suspension of Mr Ruto’s allies from the Cabinet has played in Mr Moi’s favour.

Speaking at Karelach-Kelat Primary School in West Pokot County during a funds drive on Friday, he told the Deputy President to respect Kanu or shut up.

He was accompanied by West Pokot Senator John Lonyangapuo (Kanu) and the party’s secretary-general Nick Salat.

Addressing the same meeting, Mr Murkomen, who is Mr Ruto’s close ally, asked the Baringo Senator to shelve his ambition and support Mr Ruto for the presidency in 2022.

“I’m reminding Gideon that the way William Ruto supported his father while he was President, we should together with him support Ruto to ascend into leadership in 2022,” Mr Murkomen said.

Mr Moi would have none of it, telling Mr Murkomen that playing down Kanu’s re-emergence was futile.

“Go and report to your master that I have not spoken yet and when I speak, it will be unstoppable,” Mr Moi told the Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator.

He said speculation around his tours in Rift Valley was uncalled for.

The Kanu chairman said he had been to Kericho, Nandi and Uasin Gishu and heard the cry of suffering farmers, but when he spoke about it, “the DP and his allies read politics and started making noise”.

Senator Lonyangapuo said Kanu was a member of the Jubilee coalition and wondered why the coalition was insulting its leadership, while Mr Salat said Kanu had woken up.

Last week, Mr Ruto described Mr Moi as a “political greenhorn who is not yet ready for State House”.