In 2013, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto came together and scooped the win in the general elections, with Ruto even lacking words during his speech delivery as tears of joy dripped his cheeks! But have you ever wondered how the duo, who used to be political enemies resolved to work together? Well, Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny has for the first time spoken about his role in convincing President Kenyatta to form a political pact with Ruto in the run-up to the 2013 general election.
The legislator – in an exclusive interview with KTN’s Point Blank – opened the lid on behind-the-scenes machinations that resulted in President Kenyatta and Ruto deciding to work together.
He said Uhuru was set to unveil Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa as his running-mate, while Ruto had settled on former Ambassador to Tanzania Chirau Mwakere.
But Mr Kutuny claimed he thwarted the plans by the two politicians to go separate ways at the last minute, even though he revealed that Ruto, who was then in the United Republican Party (URP) party was not for the idea.
On the eve of the day Uhuru had planned to fly to Bungoma to declare Wamalwa as his running-mate, Kutuny revealed that he personally managed to make him change his mind.
Ruto on the other hand, was already in Mombasa, where plans to name Mr Mwakere as his running-mate were complete.“I personally thwarted the separate arrangements the two leaders had.
I convinced Uhuru not to go to Bungoma. I insisted that he needed to have another meeting with Ruto,” the lawmaker said.The legislator, who later fell out with Ruto after losing his seat in 2013 and was appointed political adviser by President Kenyatta in his first term, said that had the duo ran separately, they would be floored by opposition chief Raila Odinga.
“We (technical committee) had to urgently come up with a formula,” said Kutuny.
Kutuny said Uhuru and Ruto’s allies do not understand how the two hitherto political enemies came together and formed Jubilee Party.“We brought an antagonistic group together. I think we needed to establish a strong foundation of unity in the party. People who came in after us were not there during the struggle and they do not understand issues really well,” he said.