Has the cold war between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Dr William Ruto ended? Well, the two have been using their allies to attack each other in what looks like a way of stopping Ruto’s ambitions, but do you it is the case? Well, the head of state has succeeded, for now, in silencing the remaining key vocal supporters of Tanga Tanga Movement, in a move seen as entrenching his cold war against Ruto, meant to prevent him from becoming the next president.
Youthful Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro is the latest to be silenced. The president not only scolded him in front of his constituents but also, for a second time, walked out while he was addressing mourners, sending a clear message of the seriousness of the matter.
Nyoro is among the last of the vocal Ruto supporters to have defied the president’s warning to largely Mt. Kenya MPs who have become excited with Ruto’s prospects.
However, Gatundu MP Moses Kuria has defied Uhuru and appears to have escalated his opposition to his leadership.Warnings not to support Ruto from Uhuru came as a surprise to MP Kenya MPs who have all along assumed that Uhuru will keep his promise to support his International Criminal Court-accused colleague for the presidency in 2022.
The change of tune also caught Mt. Kenya constituents unawares with most still trying to digest the matter, a move that raises uncertainty over the smoothness of Uhuru’s transition.
Uhuru words in Nyoro were heavy, warning the serial entrepreneur of the consequences of his continued campaigns being the loss of his parliamentary seat.
“After three years [ your people] will replace you all with others who will work for them,” Uhuru said.
Nyoro declined to discuss the matter with Mt. Kenya Star, insisting that he will call us back to respond but did not do so by the time of going to press.
Those close to him, however, said the rebuke by the president has shaken him down and in his last function, before he flew out to South Africa last week, he declined to discuss politics or respond to the president.
The walkout during a funeral in Murang’a however betrayed Uhuru’s emotional handling of the matter between him and his deputy, which the two have chosen to play safe, but observers say it is a matter of time before it explodes.
At the centre of the simmering fallout is ODM Leader Raila Odinga who is riding in last year’s handshake to even influence cabinet and senior appointments and has maintained a relentless war against Ruto, giving the impression that his attacks have a moral backing of Uhuru.