Will William Ruto and Gideon Moi finally bury the hatchet and work together?
These two Kalenjin sons have for long been engaged in a Supremacy battle to gain control of the large Kalenjin Community. Ruto, a self declared hustler has seen Gideon Moi as one of the people out to jeopardize his 2022 succession plans. Gideon on the other hand has never been a fan of William Ruto and with suggestions being made that he could also go for the top seat, the Kalenjin Community is surely a worried one.
The Kalenjin elders have now moved with speed to help salvage the situation. The elders have warned that the community risks losing the 2022 presidential race due to the battle of egos pitting Ruto and Gideon Moi.
According to former Myoot Council chairman Major (Rtd) John Seii, efforts to reconcile the two has proved futile due to their “high-handedness”,
Mr Seii on Thursday complained that despite a spirited bid to unite the two leaders, the elders are yet to make a breakthrough and chances of doing so are slim.
“They are both our sons but they have decided not to listen to us. We have sought appointments through their personal aides and even approached them in public forums but all these efforts have proved futile,” he said.
The elders’ efforts have been derailed further by politicians allied to the two leaders who have been constantly engaging in a war of words.
Leaders allied to Mr Ruto, among them MPs Oscar Sudi (Kapseret) and Caleb Kositany (Soy) as well as Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago, have accused some leaders in Senator Moi’s camp of being used to derail the deputy president’s 2022 presidential bid.
Mr Mandago on Thursday lashed out at the so-called rebel MPs — Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills), Joshua Kuttuny (Cherangany) and Silas Tiren (Moiben) — over their alleged politicisation of the maize crisis to gain political mileage.
“If they are really genuine, they would be raising issues in Parliament for a legal framework to be put in place to streamline the maize sector,” Mr Mandago said.
Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot also hit out at “some leaders from the Kalenjin community” who he said were being used to scuttle Mr Ruto’s 2022 presidential bid.
Do you think a Ruto-Gideon Alliance can shake the Political terrain in the Country?