The Ruling Jubilee party came to power to much hype and with great plans for the Country. It was seen as a party with a national outlook. The party had one common enemy in the name of Raila Odinga and the opposition NASA.
Fast foward to 2019, Jubilee’s Party leader Uhuru Kenyatta considers Raila Odinga a brother and even pledged to work with him. Many Party members have argued that the moment Uhuru decided to work with Raila, he spelled doom on the ruling Party.
But Just how did Jubilee’s clasped hands become clenched fists a year after the elections? How did the Tuko Pamoja slogan finally loose meaning?
The starting shot was fired by Mr Ngunjiri and Mr Kuria early last year.
Shortly after the dust of the 2017 polls settled, Mr Kuria attended a Ruto rally in January 2018 and assured the DP of Mt Kenya region’s votes.
He said it was akin to the region giving the DP a post-dated votes cheque, which would be cashed in 2022.
“He wanted to promise our votes to Dr Ruto without us discussing what was in it for the community.
“For Dr Ruto to support Uhuru in 2013, the President made several promises, which he kept. What has Ruto promised us in 2022 so we can support him?” Mr Ngunjiri, the face of Jubilee’s Kieleweke squad, asked during an interview Thursday.
He says the meaning of the group’s name is obvious. “It means, ‘Why don’t you guys see the impact (of your early campaigns)? If you don’t get it now, you will soon get it, utaelewa baadaye (you will understand later) and thus kitaeleweka (it will be understood),”‘ he explained.
During a parliamentary group meeting on August 30, 2017, President Kenyatta asked Jubilee MPs not to campaign for the next four years and pledged to campaign for Dr Ruto towards the end of his term.
“After four years, I will lead the campaign for Ruto,” he said. But that was before his election was nullified the next month as the country went back to campaign mode.
“Most of those terms can be evaluated only as we get closer to 2022. That is the point we are trying to make,” Mr Ngunjiri said.
The group is perceived to have the backing of powerful State House operatives, who feel the early campaigns are undermining the presidency.
“We are not a creation of State House. But, of course, every president has his men and women interested in ensuring he succeeds. Our interests and their interests converge so we work together,” he offered.
The emergence of the Kieleweke group has led to the crystallisation of team Tanga Tanga, a fiercely ambitious mix of youthful politicians backing Dr Ruto.
They got their name when President Kenyatta remarked that Dr Ruto goes around the country akitanga tanga (roaming around), in what was interpreted as a rebuke to Dr Ruto, but which they took as a licence for him to tour the country.
With no clear leader except the DP himself, and as slippery as a Mt Kenya trout, the group harangues anyone perceived as a threat to the DP. Their political machinery is well-oiled.
Every weekend they put up posters online outlining Dr Ruto’s activities, their message backed by bloggers across the jungle that is social media. They have cash and splash it at harambees.
Tabulations have showed that the team was contributing at least Sh7 million a month, mostly during church harambees.
Dr Ruto has also gone on overdrive to launch projects across the country, unavailability of cash notwithstanding.
They have also launched a dynasty versus hustlers political storyline, insisting that those opposing a Ruto presidency are the old-guard who do not want the son of a peasant to ascend to power.
The other main political figures in the country, including President Kenyatta, Nasa leader Raila Odinga and ANC chief Musalia Mudavadi, come from aristocratic and mostly wealthy families with name recognition, a privilege Dr Ruto does not enjoy.
“Rich political brokers are only thinking about how to grow their wealth and do not trust the hustler son of a peasant. But votes belong to the common hustler and Wanjiku, who will back Ruto in 2022,” a member of team Tanga Tanga said.
Their aim is to ensure that the DP becomes president in 2022. “Our business is Ruto and Ruto is our business. He brings development to us,” Mr Nyoro added.