Deputy President William Ruto has been warned to be wary of his new friends at the coast who are only after milking him but will surely go back home to Raila’s ODM.
Yesterday, ODM legislators warned the DP against dealing with Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa and her peers who have been publicly campaigning for him at the coast.
Three MPs, Mr Omar Mwinyi (Changamwe), Ms Mishi Mboko (Likoni) and Mr Teddy Mwambire (Ganze), also told Mr Ruto that the MPs who have declared their support for him lack grassroots support and are only interested in his money.
“They are accompanying the DP for their own selfish benefit. They are milking him dry and then they will return home.
“In all these political schemes, the biggest casualty will be the DP in 2022. Coast people are still intact in ODM and they listen only to Mr Odinga and Mr Joho,” Ms Mboko said.
The MPs downplayed Mr Ruto’s tour of the Coast last week during which he was accompanied by his new-found allies, led by Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa and her Msambweni counterpart Suleiman Dori.
During all the rallies Mr Ruto held, the MPs re-affirmed their support for his 2022 presidential candidature and told Mr Odinga to forget about the region’s votes.
Those who have shifted loyalty to Mr Ruto include Dori, Jumwa, Badi Twalib, Mohamed Ali, Ali Mbogo, Kassim Tandaza, Ken Chonga, Jones Mlolwa and Danson Mwashako.
Mr Odinga’s party, in response to the defections, has threatened to take disciplinary action against Mr Dori and Ms Jumwa.
Ms Jumwa has since clarified that she has not parted ways with Mr Odinga and that they are in constant contact.
Speaking separately on Saturday, the pro-Odinga MPs told Mr Ruto that the Dori-Jumwa group will abandon him at the last minute and troop back to ODM to secure their seats come 2022 general election.
They spoke as elders from the six coast counties defended Mr Odinga and Mr Joho against attacks by the pro-Ruto group.
Under the banner ‘Sauti ya Wazee wa Pwani’, the elders said Mr Joho is a national figure who deserves respect.
Separately, coast politician Hassan Chitembe also told off legislators opposing Mr Odinga and Mr Joho.
Ms Mboko said the rebellion by the pro-Ruto group is not new, naming a number of former MPs who quit ODM in the run-up to the 2017 election only to lose their seats.
“There were times when Mr Gideon Mung’aro, Mr Dan Kazungu, Mr Mustapha Iddi and Ms Aisha Jumwa rebelled against Mr Odinga. They talked ill of him and the party in general. But when things started going asunder, Ms Jumwa sought solace in the party,” Ms Mboko said.
“If they think they have grassroots support, let them resign now and vie on the other side in a by-election. That is when we shall know if what they are telling the DP is true. The coast political ground has not changed and they must know that,” she added.