Deputy President William Ruto has embarked on a mission to calm political tempers among his supporters in the Mt Kenya region where every 2022 presidential candidate hopes to get a slice of votes.
This weekend, Ruto will be chairing a meeting with Tanga Tanga(Jubilee party wing allied to William Ruto) politicians from the region to address the fears of the mushrooming small political parties.
The political tempers in the region have emerged from persistence by Gatundu Mp Moses Kuria of Chama Cha Kazi Party and ex-Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri of The Service Party to have their own outfits as opposed to folding them to join United Democratic Alliance (UDA), an outfit associated with William Ruto.
Kuria and Kiunjuri have been categorical that they will not dismantle their parties to join William Ruto’s UDA.
According to the two, they support William Ruto’s presidency but will field their own candidates in the other elective posts in 2022 General Election.
The stand by these two party leaders has resulted in political tempers in the Mt Kenya region, as they have been locking horns with Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua, a big Ruto supporter from Mt Kenya..
Gachagua has since changed tune, calling for dialogue between Moses Kuria, Kiunjuri, and other Mt Kenya legislators so as not to wreck William Ruto’s presidential ambitions.
The planned meeting by Ruto, Rigathi Gachagua says, will bring all the Tanga Tanga allied MPs from the region to the table, and have them agree on the best strategy ahead of the 2022 polls.
“All of us – Mwangi Kiunjuri, Rigathi Gachagua, Kimani Ichungwa and all of us – want to form government William Ruto being our president. How we get there is a matter of discussion and continuous engagement,” he told the Star.
Gachagua has been dismissing calls by Kuria and Kiunjuri to have small parties in Mt Kenya, at one point, accusing Kuria of being President Uhuru’s mole in UDA.
Responding to Gachagua’s claim, Kuria said he has no interest in working with Uhuru since his time is over.
“I am not going to stand here and allow someone to accuse me of being part of deep state. President Uhuru Kenyatta pronounced that he’s going home. So how can I be a deep state for someone who is going home?” Kuria posed.
