Despite being fought left, right and centre by his nemesis, Deputy President William Ruto has confidence that he will emerge the Jubilee party presidential flagbearer! Some of Jubilee Party members have publicly declared that Ruto is not their automatic endorsement, but he is still cocky about his bid. What might be thriving him into all these confidence? Well, the DP is premised on one key condition; he has numbers within Jubilee’s organs.
It is a reality his detractors have come to appreciate too late in the day given the sheer number of friendly officials within the party.
And insiders now say his detractors are working hard to sway members of the various organs ahead of what promises to be a bruising battle to secure the party’s ticket ahead of the 2022 presidential election.
The Deputy President was one of the proponents of a strong national political party and dissolved his own United Republican Party (URP) to form Jubilee.
Ten other parties were also dissolved in an unprecedented move which took more than one and half years to pull off. Even as it emerges that all is not well within the Jubilee party, Mr Ruto has been going about his political business totally unperturbed.
When Jubilee vice chairman David Murathe dropped a bombshell on December 26 that Mt Kenya region owed Mr Ruto no debt come 2022, this was viewed as a sign of a major rift in the party.
Jubilee, despite its supposed national outlook, owes its support bedrock to the North Rift and Mt Kenya regions and the withdrawal of one will largely weaken it.
On Thursday, when he met MCAs from Bomet and Vihiga counties at his Sugoi home in Uasin Gishu, Mr Ruto said he did not expect to be endorsed by anyone and would therefore present his candidature like all other aspirants for various positions.
But it is the machinations that may happen between now and the time Jubilee picks its 2022 presidential flagbearer that will determine the DP’s next move.