With the 2022 Presidential race seemingly taking shape already, a number of factions have already emerged in the Ruling Jubilee Party. Apart from DP Ruto’s now famous “Tanga Tanga” movement, there is also the “Kieleweke” movement with MP Ngunjiri Wambugu as it’s face.
According to Ngunjiri “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.
The Nyeri Town MP and his group have three conditions they want Dr Ruto to fulfil to earn their support: He must let President Kenyatta finish his term in peace; tell Mt Kenya voters what they will get in return for their support in 2022; and promise to ensure the country remains peaceful whether or not Mt Kenya voters back him.
“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.