Former Ruto wealthy allies plot new alliance

Politician Zedekiah Bundotich addresses members of the public during a meeting with Chama Cha Mashinani delegation at his home in Ainabkoi, Uasin Gishu County, on June 28, 2019. Him and other former Deputy President William Ruto allies have joined the party. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Zakayo Cheruiyot said that Rift Valley people must be accorded alternatives when it comes to the choice of leaders to elect.
  • The idea is to work with Kanu and try to lock DP Ruto out of parts of the South Rift and the North Rift counties of Baringo and West Pokot, among other areas.

For years, several Rift Valley billionaires and politicians were close political and business allies, as well as personal friends of Deputy President William Ruto.

David Langat, Joshua Kulei, Zedekiah Bundotich Kiprop, alias Buzeki, and Silas Simotwo, among others, financially supported his campaigns since 2007 when Mr Ruto supported Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s presidential candidature.

But between the 2013 General Election and now, the once blossoming friendships have withered and some of them are now plotting to scuttle his presidential bid in favour of other leaders from the region.

Their differences have been blamed on business rivalry, with accusations that Mr Ruto and his allies have snatched contracts from them and what they perceive as arrogance of Mr Ruto’s friends.

They blame the Deputy President for allegedly using his office and influence to frustrate their businesses and snatch from them multibillion-shilling tenders in favour of Chinese companies.

The contentious contracts include the standard gauge railway, which was eventually awarded to China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s Greenfield terminal, which was inexplicably cancelled, the school laptop project and special economic zones, one of which is on the verge of being cancelled.

Besides, there is a general feeling among this group that the deputy president has set some of his foot soldiers on a hate campaign targeting them.

ALLIANCE

With the relationship effectively dead, the businessmen are coming together to unsettle the DP in his own backyard.

Mr Langat has taken an increasingly important role of running Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM), which is led by former Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto, who too fell out with the DP before the 2017 General Election.

“A number of things are going on but I don’t want to talk about that because the time for politics will come. For now, let us focus on how we can deal with youth unemployment and other problems we face as a country,” Mr Langat told the Sunday Nation as he hinted at the political realignments.

He however avoided directly discussing his political intentions. But his close confidante said a decision has been made about Mr Langat’s political role in the 2022 elections.

“We are working on a strategy where CCM and Kanu are going to work together before joining a larger alliance that will have a better chance of forming the next government,” the confidante said.

Mr Zakayo Cheruiyot, a former powerful Internal Security permanent secretary, a key cog in the movement, told the Sunday Nation that Rift Valley people must be accorded alternatives when it comes to the choice of leaders to elect.

“The Kalenjins, just like other Kenyans, have the freedom of thought and association. I do not believe in being pigeonholed for the sake of an individual’s ambition, especially a megalomaniac. Such does not solve community issues,” he said.

POLL HEARTBREAK

Mr Cheruiyot fell out with DP Ruto in the run-up to the last elections and decamped to Mr Ruto’s CCM.

He lost the Kuresoi South parliamentary seat to Mr Joseph Kipkosgei, who ran on the Jubilee ticket.

He said that one of their immediate assignments is to ensure that the planned evictions of squatters from the Mau water tower are either stopped or done with dignity.

“We support the initiatives to conserve the environment, but we cannot hide our heads in the sand and assume all is well. People must be guaranteed the right to shelter and food. Our people have a right to earn their own food,” he stated.

Mr Cheruiyot was a PS when DP Ruto was honing his political skills and is said to have on many occasions assisted him to get audience with retired President Daniel arap Moi.

The CCM was one of the major political parties that formed the National Super Alliance ahead of the 2017 General Election, with its leader, Mr Isaac Ruto, at the alliance’s apex.

The former governor confirmed Mr Langat’s and other Rift Valley political and business leaders’ move to his party.

On Mr Langat, the former Bomet governor said: “He is a strong supporter of the party and possibly he may want to play a role, and he is most welcome.”

NEW MEMBERS

Mr Langat has previously contested the Tinderet parliamentary seat during the one-party Kanu rule, his only known foray into elective politics.

He lost to former long-serving Cabinet minister Henry Kosgey.

Even though he has often kept off the public limelight, Mr Langat has remained a major behind-the-scenes political player and financier to the majority of current and former Rift Valley politicians and also a player in the presidential contests.

The CCM leader also confirmed that wealthy businessmen like Buzeki were already in the party’s fold.

“They are already there and many others are coming. This party is not a party of sycophants. It is a party of people who want to be free to think. We harness all the intellectual capacities of everyone and in particular, those who are very interested in the greatest good for the greatest numbers,” the former governor said.

The idea, Sunday Nation was told, is to work with Kanu and try to lock DP Ruto out of parts of the South Rift and the North Rift counties of Baringo and West Pokot, among other areas.

MOI VISIT

Meanwhile, as part of the growing dalliance with Kanu, Mr Langat on August 3 paid a visit to retired President Moi at his Kabarak home in the presence of Baringo Senator and son of the former president, Mr Gideon Moi.

Pictures of the meeting have emerged, sparking speculation about his political intentions.

Over the past weekend, he was in Kisumu where he met ODM leader Raila Odinga at the latter’s home in Riat Hills, Kisumu County.

“Kanu is a tolerant party. It is a party that has no horns. Its chairman is amiable and does not harass others,” said the former governor when asked about alliance-building with the independence party.

With Dr Langat now calling the shots from behind-the-scenes, he has been assembling disgruntled former Ruto loyalists.

The Sunday Nation reached out to the office of the DP for comment but his handlers said they are not interested in discussing the subject.

The DP is said to be less concerned about the new grouping comprising wealthy businessmen, since he believes they pose little, if no threat to his stranglehold on the expansive and populous Rift Valley region.

ROLE IN CCM

Mr Buzeki’s decamping from Jubilee to CCM in May was the most surprising, given that he was a close Ruto ally and was even perceived as the DP’s project to unseat Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago.

He however lost the Jubilee nominations to Mr Mandago, who went ahead to trounce him in the General Election.

Since his defection, Mr Buzeki has been popularising his new party in the Rift Valley.

He met with over 2,000 CCM delegates comprising former civic leaders, retired chiefs, elders and politicians who contested for elective seats through CCM at his home in Eldoret in June, ahead of his installation as the party’s secretary-general.

Soon after his defection, Mr Buzeiki held a closed-door meeting with, among others, Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny and his Moiben counterpart Silas Tiren, both of whom have been critics of the Deputy President.

Mr Langat reportedly played a behind-the-scenes role in organising the meeting.

Though Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos has also severed links with DP Ruto, citing frustration and insults from his allies, he seems more aligned to Kanu’s Gideon Moi.