Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto has ruled out possibilities of working with ethnic and regional chiefs as he crafts his 2022 presidential strategy.
Ruto said he would introduce a new political conversation about ordinary people including Bodaboda, mama mboga and mkokoteni owners but not seasoned leaders.
In a statement released at the end of his three-day meeting with Mount Kenya leaders on Sunday, April 2, the second in command said he will embark on a new conversation that is not about leaders, their positions, their ambitions, and their private and personal interests.
“We must engineer a fundamental paradigm shift from the perennial politics of personalities, positions, and power to a candid, open, and frank engagement with the people on the economy, their aspirations and their future,” Ruto said.
He said he the current model which Jubilee has been using since it took over power from Mwai Kibaki is centered on the interests of political kingpins leaving ordinary Kenyans out.
“Over the years, political positions have been created, power has been shared this way and that way, leaders’ interests have been catered for but this has not improved the lot of the overwhelming majority of Kenyans,” he said.
Ruto’s remarks come at a time when his cohorts from the vote-rich Mt. Kenya region have demanded he nominates one of their own as his running mate in exchange for their full support in 2022.
Kivumbi.co.ke understands that the Jubilee deputy party leader has however been meeting several political kingpins urging them to support his journey to the statehouse come August 2022.
Ruto, in a televised interview last month confirmed to have held several meetings with ODM Deputy party leader and Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya.
He even went ahead to ascertain that he was persuading Oparanya, one of luyhia kingpins to join his camp since the county boss had a similar model of approach to his.
