Row rages over Charles Keter’s grip on DP

Kericho Senator Charles Keter has dismissed a section of politicians and elders from the Rift Valley who have accused him and some “greenhorns” of fuelling a rift among Kalenjin politicians.

The senator has in recent weeks been accused of shielding Deputy President William Ruto and using his closeness to the URP leader to isolate him from other Rift Valley politicians.

Elders particularly point a finger at Mr Keter over the conflict between Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto and the Deputy President.

But Mr Keter was unapologetic about his closeness to the Deputy President, saying the relationship had not blocked others from accessing the DP.

He described his party leader as “the most accessible politician” in the Rift Valley.

“DP Ruto goes to any place he wants. If he wants to go to Kericho, I must not even be there. And he has actually done it many times,” the former Energy assistant minister said on Saturday.

He described claims that he had antagonised the Deputy President against other Kalenjin politicians as “hogwash”.

“Nobody is blocking anyone from seeing the Deputy President. And this is not an issue I want to discuss,” Mr Keter said.

Kipsigis Council of Elders vice-chairman William Ketienya yesterday said Mr Keter’s conduct could create more enemies for the Deputy President  and  threaten his chances of succeeding President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022.

“Why is the DP, who we all love and would vote for any time, allowing his name to be smeared with mud by these greenhorn politicians who call themselves the Sky Team?” he said.

The Sky Team is a reference to a combative group, mostly first-term politicians, who have been flying around the country deriding those opposed to the DP. 

The group has also been accused of influencing tenders and extorting “harambee money”.

“Why is our son allowing himself to lose grip of the people by putting some arrogant, disrespectful leaders on the front line?” Mr Ketienya asked in an interview with Sunday Nation.

Mr Ketienya pointed out that the hurried creation of the Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP) amid discontent from a section of politicians, led by Governor Ruto — which Mr Keter vehemently supported — has been singled out as a sign that the Kericho senator and his friends could be leading DP Ruto in the wrong direction. 

WAR OF WORDS

The Deputy President has been caught up in a war of words with Governor Ruto, his Kericho counterpart Paul Chepkwony, Baringo Senator Gideon Moi and Kuresoi MP Zakayo Cheruiyot.

They have sometimes publicly accused the DP of being condescending, disrespectful and dictatorial, and of doing little for the URP wing of the Jubilee coalition.

A senior politician in the South Rift, who sought anonymity because he is a close friend of DP Ruto, said the “cold war” between Senator Keter and Governor Ruto could determine the outcome of the 2022 elections.

He added: “Senator Keter wants to be the South Rift kingpin and he feels that Governor Ruto is a problem. The challenge with this kind of thinking is that Mr Keter ends up dragging the DP  into his own wars.”

There is also a supremacy war between Mr Keter and the Bomet governor — who regards himself as the second senior-most  Kalenjin politician in the Jubilee era, having served as a Cabinet minister in the Moi administration. 

Until Thursday, the Bomet county chief was the chairman of the powerful Council of Governors, a position he has used to raise his profile considerably and wage war against the Deputy President over devolution.

The resurgence of Mr Moi, the Kanu chairman, is also attributed to the apparent lack of calm in the DP’s camp.

Mr Keter has ruffled feathers even outside his South Rift backyard. Three weeks ago, Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago and Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi accused him of meddling with a list of possible appointees to various parastatal boards.

“We created a list of possible appointees but he (Keter) edited it,” said Mr Mandago.

But Kericho County MPs came out to support their senator, saying Governor Mandago and Mr Sudi were creating a wedge where there was none.