Politicians from Western Kenya allied to Deputy President William Ruto have not less than once assured him of massive political support, but will this be achieved easily?
Following the recent bull fighting event organised by former Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, the western leaders seem to be carrying Ruto’s support with conditions.
During the event held at Malinya Stadium on Sunday, the leaders urged Ruto to get a running mate from the region.
Speaking at the event, the leaders advised Ruto to pick Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi or Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetangula.
Area MP Bernard Shinali set the ball rolling: “We are happy that you came here today. Nobody should lie to you that Western is divided. The region will definitely back your 2022 presidential quest, however, we want you to have one of our leaders as a running mate. There are many: Mudavadi, Wetang’ula or even myself.”
Khalwale referred to Ruto as ‘an old friend’ saying he will work hard to ensure the DP gets full backing in western.Khalwale said since 1997, leaders from the Luhya community have gotten their arithmetic wrong while in search for political power.
“In 1997, we tried it out with the late Vice President Michael Kijana Wamalwa, but failed miserably. That is until we joined forces with retired President Mwai Kibaki,” said Khalwale.
In 2013, Khalwale said he worked tirelessly to sell Mudavadi across the country but achieved little.