The long-running maize scandal could prove a sticking point for Deputy President William Ruto in his Rift Valley political backyard as he strategises to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022.
Farmers and a section of leaders from the North Rift on Saturday expressed open dissatisfaction with the way he has handled the thorny maize issue so far.
Maize and wheat farming are the main economic activities of many of his supporters in the region, but some of them feel that he has not done all within his powers to address their plight.
Farmers continue to complain of low prices for their produce and inordinate delayed payments for maize delivered to the National Cereals and Produce Board.
Addressing the issue, three North Rift Jubilee MPs — Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills), Joshua Kutuny (Cherangany) and Silas Tiren (Moiben) — on Saturday demanded that the DP be probed for the maize and fertiliser scandals that have rocked the country in the recent past.
“What we know is that these problems are because of the DP and his office,” Mr Keter, a long-time critic of Mr Ruto, alleged without adducing any evidence of the allegation.
Mr Kutuny pointed out that the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri had earlier indicated that there were powerful individuals linked to the maize scam, and on this basis the DP should be probed.
“We want the DP probed because we have heard that he has been calling NCPB officials instructing them on who should be paid,” the legislator claimed, but without giving any proof too.
The MPs were speaking during a farmers’ meeting at TAC Centre in Eldoret to chart the way forward on the challenges in the sector. The meeting was also attended by former MPs Jesse Mais (Eldoret South) and Luka Chepkitony (Keiyo North).
However, DP allies among them Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, faulted the farmers and rebel MPs from the region for politicising the maize issue. “We should not blame the DP now and then about the maize issue when he has an obligation to protect all farmers,” said the senator. “It is the MPs from the maize zone who have let farmers down by not sponsoring motions in Parliament for more funds to be allocated for purchase of maize by the government.”