Why Ruto is under siege

Deputy President William Ruto has held meetings with veteran politicians Nicholas Biwott, Henry Kosgey and Jackson Kibor in a bid to stem the rebellion that is threatening his grip on Rift Valley politics.

The meetings with the former MPs with whom he has not been seeing eye-to-eye is a sign that Mr Ruto is feeling the heat coming from a region he mobilised in the campaign for the 2013 General Election to endorse his joint ticket with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

It also signifies that the rebellion led by Baringo Senator Gideon Moi and Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto cannot be ignored and is gaining currency in his URP wing of the ruling coalition.
Mr Ruto has lately been juggling numerous issues: keeping tabs on the crimes against humanity case he faces at the ICC, tackling the political rebellion, quelling discontent among some URP MPs over the recent state appointments and addressing the burning issue of the Mau forest evictions.

But yesterday Mr Ruto dismissed the brewing rebellion in his political turf, asking people to ignore his critics who he said did not have an agenda for the presidency like he does.
“Those going round shouting have no plan. They just say they want to spoil for arap Ruto,” he said

Mr Ruto exuded confidence that he would take over the presidency after Uhuru Kenyatta. Speaking at Kakaya in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, he dismissed his opponents as lacking strategy and accused them of being out to spoil his chances of becoming the country’s fifth president.

MET KOSGEY

Away from the public statements, the Deputy President met Mr Kosgey at his Harambee House Annex offices from around mid-day on Monday, just minutes after Mr Kibor, the Uasin Gishu politician, stepped out.

The two meetings had been preceded by another on April 15 between Mr Ruto and Nr Biwott, the former powerful minister in the Moi administration, at the same venue.
Yesterday, Mr Ruto’s spokesman Emannuel Talam denied knowledge of the meetings.

But he said the DP had a right to meet and caucus with every Kenyan.

“I am not aware of the meetings, but the DP would want everyone on board as part of his desire to create unity in the country,” said Mr Talam.

Those familiar with the deliberations told the Sunday Nation that in all the discussions, Mr Ruto reached out to the three politicians with whom he once had a cordial relationship before a falling out.
The meetings, our sources said, are part of an attempt by Mr Ruto to quell the surging tide of rebellion on his home turf led jointly led by Governor Isaac Ruto and Gideon Moi.

Like Mr Biwott, Mr Kosgey, who until last year was the opposition party ODM chairman, is an influential figure in the Rift Valley and having him on the DP’s side would be a major step in countering the simmering revolt.

After giving an undertaking that he would support Mr Ruto, Mr Kosgey is said to have asked for time before going public on the decision.
Mr Kosgey has been somewhat hesitant to meet the DP after he was trounced by URP candidate Stephen Sang in the Nandi Senate race in 2013.

Interestingly, these are among some of the politicians the Deputy President once dismissed as having outlived their usefulness because of their advanced age when they were opposing him.

The Sunday Nation understands that former Bureti MP Franklin Bett who parted ways with Mr Ruto before the 2013 elections, has been instrumental in bringing the DP, Mr Kosgey, Mr Biwott and Mr Kibor together.

It was also a week that saw URP MPs cancel a planned press conference where they wanted to register their disappointment with President Uhuru Kenyatta over his his appointments of parastatal heads and members.

Instead, they reportedly took Mr Ruto to task at a Thursday evening meeting at the Weston Hotel in Nairobi, complaining that those who had landed positions from their constituencies were their political opponents.

One of those former politicians who have made a return to public service is Mr Musa Sirma who was appointed to the board of Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC).
Mr Sirma was the MP for Eldama Ravine until 2007 when he was defeated by Mr Moses Lesonet. He lost to Mr Lesonet again in the 2013 elections.

Two of the MPs who attended the meeting separately told the Sunday Nation that they also told the party boss that the ground was fast drifting away under him.
They said that JAP, the new political vehicle on whose ticket President Kenyatta and his deputy hope to seek re-election in 2017, was a hard sell in their regions, but Mr Ruto responded by saying it was early to pass such judgment and asked them to lead in popularising it.

Speaking at yesterday’s fundraising meeting in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Mr Ruto defended the formation of JAP. “This JAP would have on board all parties across the country making up the alliance and we have a strategy for 2022. Let’s all embrace it because we were not fools when we decided to go that route,” said the Deputy President.

Apart from the rebellion on his home turf, Mr Ruto is also feeling the heat over the ongoing Mau Forest evictions. Kuresoi MP Zakayo Cheruiyot, who has aligned himself with Governor Ruto and Mr Moi, has accused the DP of being silent about the evictions yet he was vocal when former Prime Minister Raila Odinga was spearheading the same evictions during the Grand Coalition government.

Mr Ruto Saturday said the government will not use force to evict families from Mau Forest and other water catchment areas.
Away from politics, the Deputy President has recently lost some of his close allies in the corruption purge targeting public officials.

Of the five Cabinet secretaries who have been suspended because of corruption-related charges, three are known allies of the Deputy President––Felix Koskei (Agriculture), Davis Chirchir (Energy) and Kazungu Kambi (Labour).

SUSPENDED
Cabinet secretaries Charity Ngilu (Land) and Michael Kamau (Transport) were also suspended after their names were mentioned in the anti-graft dossier that President Uhuru Kenyatta presented to Parliament on March 26 during his State of the Nation address.

Mr Ruto’s chief of staff Marianne Kittany was also among the casualties as President Kenyatta’s axe landed very close to his deputy. All of them are now awaiting word from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) whether they will be charged or have the investigation files closed.

Mr Ruto is also under immense pressure over his case in The Hague for allegedly being a key perpetrator. So far, 29 witnesses have testified against Mr Ruto and his co-accused Joshua Sang.
Unlike President Kenyatta’s case that was withdrawn, Mr Ruto’s case has moved on rather smoothly with International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda left with only a single witness to close her case.

His case is also understood to present a major headache for him given the evidence the prosecution had obtained from the PNU side of the Grand Coalition, including raw intelligence and security briefs about the alleged planning of the violence in which an estimated 1,133 people were killed. Thereafter, the focus shifts to Mr Ruto and Mr Sang who separately will be required to file a maximum 40-page no-case to answer motions within 14 days after Ms Bensouda is through with her witnesses.

The Deputy President’s woes have further been compounded by the silencing of the so-called “Sky Team” – loosely referring to certain politicians close to him - which were accused of influencing major tenders.

Another key lieutenant of Mr Ruto, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, has also been wounded politically over the terror attacks in the country, and some Jubilee MPs have even called on him to resign from the senior position.

There is also a feeling among the Rift Valley MPs that since his election to the second- most powerful political office in the land, Mr Ruto has abandoned them. Nothing exemplifies this state of affairs better than sentiments by Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter who in the past compared the DP to a palm wine tapper or a man who went up the tree to harvest honey and on realizing its sweetness, forgot about those who helped him climb up.

“We sent William Ruto to climb up the tree to harvest honey…but when he reached on top of the tree he suddenly went quiet,” Mr Keter had said.
But yesterday, the DP enumerated the various government acts on infrastructure development, rural electrification and abolition of examination registration fees in schools that he said were among key Jubilee achievements.

“We are in government, and we should not be seen anywhere making noise but rather be supportive to the elected leaders, and if there is anything to warrant noise, please raise through your respective elected leaders and we will address without unnecessary noise,” said the DP.

On the issue of the Mau Forest evictions, he appreciated the manner in which people have heeded the government’s call to leave the water tower voluntarily after receiving the compensation packages President Kenyatta and he launched together in November 2013.