Ruto vs Ruto: Focus shifts to Rift Valley in referendum numbers game

The numbers game has now shifted to the Rift Valley region which is expected to decide which way the referendum goes.

With the supporters of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) and The National Alliance (TNA) backing their leadership on opposing sides, the Rift Valley, whose residents mainly support the United Republican Party (URP) in the Jubilee government, seems divided with the potential of tilting the balance either way.

Supporters of Deputy President William Ruto and those of Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto — the chairman of Governors Council, which supports the push for a referendum — clashed at a recent church function in Bomet.

Last Sunday, Deputy President Ruto and Governor Ruto faced off at a fundraiser.

Trouble started when the DP said: “Someone says that they want public money raised through taxes to spend the way they like? No. Those who want money must also be prepared to account for it. If you want to run public money, you must be accountable.”

At the centre of the drama, which involved a shouting match, were senators Charles Keter of Kericho and Kipchumba Murkomen of Elgeyo Marakwet, who believe that the governor is going against the region’s philosophy of the preservation of power and maintenance of the status quo.

Governor Ruto has argued that their push was simply premised on the desire to have funds to counties increased to 45 per cent.

“The time is right. We must end the era of the minority benefiting at the expense of the majority. They can keep the 55 per cent,” Mr Ruto said in a tweet this week.

DIVIDED OPINION

But parliamentary Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso said the clamour for increased allocations to the counties, dubbed Pesa Mashinani, could be achieved without necessarily going for a referendum.

“We all know that a referendum involves polarisation of masses. Let us refrain from this push and give (President) Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto time to run the country,” she said.

Speaking Saturday at Mwachon at the launch of a Sh22 million community resource centre, URP governors spokesman Benjamin Cheboi welcomed ongoing talks to fast-track the release of more funds to the counties, saying the referendum would be an unnecessary burden to Kenyans.

“No one needs the referendum,” he said.

Eldama Ravine MP Moses Lesonet urged Mr Cheboi to lead the way in cooling political temperatures in the country by urging fellow governors to abandon their push for the referendum.

“What the former Prime Minister is doing is keeping himself busy and relevant ahead of 2017 and ensuring that his troops are in place and ready any time they are called. Even he is not keen on the referendum,” said Mr Cheboi.

NO SPLIT IN RIFT VALLEY

Mr Murkomen has denied claims that there is a split in the Rift Valley over the referendum debate and dismissed the Bomet governor as a noisemaker.

“I don’t see Isaac (Ruto) as a factor in the referendum push, but an appendage of Raila Odinga. In the last elections, there were many people who followed Raila, and we all saw what happened to them,” the senator said.

“Before the elections Raila was saying he would get 40 per cent of the Rift Valley votes. He did not come anywhere near that. The noise that the media are taking to be a sign of divisions in the Rift Valley is coming from one man who is trying to remain relevant while he could not even marshal his county representatives to impeach the Bomet Speaker. We need to appreciate the political dynamics at play,” he added. Mr Murkomen said that county assemblies will vote along party lines “and we have a comfortable majority”.

“There is no single county assembly that will pass the referendum. We in Jubilee want to enjoy the debate while it lasts. There will be no referendum,” he said.

But assuming the issues the governors raise to justify their push for a referendum do not resonate with county residents, this may be politically suicidal.

SUPPORT FOR REFERENDUM

During the tense church function, the Bomet governor said: “I’m squarely in Jubilee, I have not joined hands with Cord, but we need money because these people want money for school fees. We must be able to tell the truth.”

MCAs are not removed from county populations that feel that the central government has reneged on many of its promises. They are just unsure of what constitutional method would be appropriate to push their agenda.

Turkana ODM Governor Josphat Nanok has declared his support for the council’s push. He said the referendum will help increase county funds to 45 per cent.

While the URP wing of the Jubilee coalition grapples with how to deal with “errant” governors, TNA has succeeded in pushing its governors off the referendum bandwagon.

What Cord needs now to win the referendum is to maintain support in its strongholds and glean votes from the Jubilee areas, especially in the Rift Valley. Alive to this fact, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have decided to take the battle to the Cord’s “vulnerable” areas in Coast and Western regions.

Still in the Rift Valley, where the Bomet governor has marshalled support among governors, the ground is slowly shifting. This week, Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago announced he would no longer support the referendum, attributing the change of heart to the politicisation of the matter.

Reports by Wycliffe Kipsang, Dennis Lubanga, Sammy Lutta, Copperfield Lagat, Tom Matoke, Philip Bwayo, Erick Ngobilo, Raphael Wanjala, Walter Menya, Elias Makori, James Kariuki and Philemon Suter