Gideon Moi: I will vie for the presidency in 2022
What you need to know:
Mr Moi dismissed claims by Deputy President William Ruto that being second in command will make it easy for him to clinch the post in 2022.
Mr Moi also rubbished claims by his political rivals that he is a political novice and unfit to vie for the top seat.
- The son of retired President Daniel arap Moi, has a frosty relationship with the DP over a supremacy battle for the leadership of the Kalenjin.
Baringo Senator Gideon Moi on Sunday said he will vie for the presidency in 2022.
Mr Moi dismissed claims by Deputy President William Ruto that being second in command will make it easy for him to clinch the post in 2022.
Speaking in Kipsaraman in Baringo North at the funeral of Mr Daniel Kipkebut, the father of his personal assistant, Mr Moi also rubbished claims by his political rivals that he is a political novice and unfit to vie for the top seat.
RUDE SHOCK
“I don't understand why some people think I am a novice in politics. I have come of age and am equal to the task, so I will vie for the presidency. Some people started calling me names and trying to discourage me before I even announced my ambition,” said Mr Moi.
Mr Moi, the son of retired President Daniel arap Moi, has a frosty relationship with the DP over a supremacy battle for the leadership of the Kalenjin.
“Tunaomba kumwambia naibu wa rais kuwa kutangulia si kufika (We want to tell the DP that being the deputy President is no guarantee that he will be the president of this republic. He should just be patient because he will be in for a rude shock,” added the senator, who is also the chairman of the Kenya African National Union (Kanu).
ABSENTEE LEADER
“I will be on the presidential ballot in 2022, and my political opponents should brace for a tough battle. I am not cowed, and I am not ready to shelve my political ambitions ,” he said.
The senator's political opponents say he is an absentee leader who is unaware of his people's suffering and rarely attends Senate sessions.
On several occasions, the locals have accused him of not playing an active role in county matters and threatened to elect leaders who will listen to, and act, on their problems.
LAUGHED OFF
Tiaty MP William Kamket said the Tugen community has its own bull (Moi) and it up the Kalenjin to decide wisely.
“I want to assure the Kalenjin that Senator Moi is a sure bet. Even before he announced his presidential ambition, it was causing jitters among politicians,” said Mr Kamket.
But Baringo North MP William Cheptumo dismissed Mr Kamket's statement and laughed off Mr Moi’s 2022 presidential ambition, saying it is unrealistic.
DISMISSED KANU
Mr Cheptumo said that political division in the region risks costing the community the presidency in 2022. He appealed to Senator Moi and the DP's perceived rivals to bury their differences and unite as a community.
He said the Jubilee Party had entered into an agreement that would see President Uhuru Kenyatta lead for two terms, after which the Mount Kenya region would back Mr Ruto in 2022.
The battle for the control of vote rich Rift Valley is shaping up and Baringo county is the epicenter of the tussle pitting deputy President against senator Gideon Moi.
The DP has been describing Mr Moi as a “political greenhorn who is not yet ready for State House” and has repeatedly dismissed Kanu as a party that has lost its footing in the Rift Valley.
