William Ruto proves his political might yet again in Uhuru’s backyard

William Ruto has yet again proved he can wrestle the Mt Kenya region from the grip of the ailing Jubilee Party and his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta.

A few months after a United Democratic Alliance candidate badly floored Jubilee party man in Juja constituency by-election, another United Democratic Alliance (UDA) man has emerged victorious in the just concluded Kiambaa constituency by-election.

UDA’s candidate John Njuguna garnered 21,773 votes against the Jubilee party’s Kariri Njama who got 21, 263 votes. It is worth noting UDA is associated with William Ruto.

It was a tight race in which Jubilee’s candidate was contesting for the seat a second time while UDA’s candidate was attempting this for the first time.

This will mark the third successive by-election that Jubilee Party is losing in as many months and it paints a worrying trend for the party as we head into the 2022 General Election.

The Kiambaa by-election had been billed as a litmus test for Uhuru’s grip on the central Kenya voting bloc.

It had also been considered a test of William Ruto’s forays into the region that is known to vote as a bloc.

During campaigns in Kiambaa, Jubilee Party loyalists and top dogs kept urging votes to help Uhuru teach William Ruto a lesson by overwhelmingly voting in Jubilee man.

William Ruto’s foot soldiers from Mt Kenya region on the other hand urged their supporters to help drive the last nail in the Jubilee party’s coffin.

They could not hide their joy upon the win as captured in their updates on social media.

It is worth noting William Ruto and most of his supporters are technically still Jubilee party members only that they have shifted allegiance to UDA following frustration within Jubilee.

The Juja, Kiambaa, and Rurii ward victories by UDA thus confirm what Mahako’s governor Alfred Mutua said of William Ruto.

He said the deputy president has managed to divide the Mt Kenya region, something late President Daniel Moi struggled to achieve in 24 years without success.

With less than 12 months to the next General Elections, Jubilee’s work is cut out, the party knows it needs to do a lot to restore its lost glory and have a meaningful number of elected officials after the 2022 elections.