There has been information going round that Interior CS Fred Matiangi and Deputy President William Ruto are currently involved in a vicious fight over the tendering of the new police uniforms.
It is claimed that Ruto is against Matiangi’s decision to award the tender for the new uniforms exclusively to the National Youth Service (NYS)
Ruto wants Matiangi to award the tender for the supply of police uniforms to other people, not just the National Youth Service.
Matiang’i on the other hand has stood his ground, insisting yesterday that all uniforms will be made by the NYS, as directed by President Kenyatta.
This is not the first time the two are engaging in a cold fights and Supremacy battles.
Ruto and Matiang’i were also engaged in a cold war when the President visited Kisumu last week.
It has been alleged that a Governor from Nyanza known to work with Ruto, ferried people from different parts of Nyanza to where President Kenyatta was with their main task being to heckle CS Fred Matiang’i but the CS avoided the rally and only showed up at the Kisumu State Lodge in the evening.
On Monday Ruto, while speaking in Kakamega, opposed the boda boda crackdown, saying operators are businessmen and should be treated as such.
“There are many boda boda people in Kenya. They too are business people and I have told those concerned not to harass boda boda people,” Ruto said.
Ruto and Matiang’i also clashed in February this year after over a multi-billion-shilling tender to supply arms.
The police department had floated a Sh3 billion restricted tender for the weapons. Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett then drafted a letter recommending that a tender be awarded to a company in Eastern Europe.
“When the CS saw it, he refused to sign and instead asked the IG to provided minutes from the National Security Advisory Council and the National Security Council supporting the recommendation.
“The DP then asked Matiang’i why he was sitting on the tender papers but Matiang’i said he was waiting for the minutes, which never came,” a government official aware of the incident said.
It is also understood that sometime this year the DP asked Matiang’i to approve a deal in which some “investors” wanted to develop prison land. The prison is located in Rift Valley on a huge piece of land.
“The CS asked the DP to arrange for Cabinet approval before he could authorise the investment. The DP was upset and the transaction collapsed,” another source familiar with the duelling said.
One of the most dramatic clashes between the two took place in September 2016 when Matiang’i was then Education Minister.
Ruto’s allies led by two governors and several MPs stormed Moi University to stop newly appointed acting Vice Chancellor Laban Ayiro from taking over. Matiang’i had appointed Ayiro to replace outgoing VC Richard Mibey whose term ended had ended.
But Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago with Elgeyo Marakwet’s Alex Tolgos, said they wanted a fellow Kalenjin, Prof Isaac Kosgey, appointed as they said he had “topped recruitment interviews”.
Ruto then asked Matiang’i to appoint Kosgey but Matiang’i refused, insisting that Ayiro was the most qualified to take over the leadership of the university.
“The CS then wrote a letter instructing himself to appoint Kosgey and wanted the DP to sign it. Ruto took the letter and tore it up,” a source in the Office of the President said.
Is this growing rivalry between President Uhuru’s trusted associates good for the Country?