The rise of Gideon Moi in the Rift Valley has sparked a lot of political heat in the region. The region which has been singing Deputy President William Ruto tunes is now tuning to a different melody.
This comes as DP Ruto plans to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022. But will this be possible when Moi, the “Golden boy” is in for play too?
The answer is hail difficult. Unlike the Chelsea football encounter with Manchester City which gamblers have many options to pick this has only few options. But the most probable result when both Moi and DP Ruto rival the answer is lose-lose.
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— pangka (@jovankaliora) December 1, 2018
This has raised fear to the region that the elders have come in to help salvage the situation.
Kalenjin elders have warned that the community risks losing the 2022 presidential race due to the battle of egos pitting Deputy President William Ruto against Baringo Senator Gideon Moi.
The two are currently locked in a major supremacy battle for control of Rift Valley votes, with efforts to reconcile them proving futile due to their “high-handedness”, according to former Myoot Council chairman Major (Rtd) John Seii.
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.
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.
While Mr Ruto has launched campaigns to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta, Senator Moi has not publicly declared his interest to contest for the presidency in 2022.
However, his political allies, including Tiaty MP William Kamket, have maintained that Kanu will field its presidential candidate in 2022.