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Isaac Rutto: Rift Valley not under one party's lock and key

 

A 'second force' is shaping up in Deputy President William Ruto’s home turf - Rift Valley - ahead of the 2022 general election.

A team of leaders opposed to the DP are working on a new line up to offer alternative leadership they say is 'issue-based and pro-people'.

On Tuesday  Chama Cha Mashinani party leader Isaac Rutto, who has hosted two high-level meetings at his Bomet county home, confirmed that 'like-minded leaders' have been meeting to chart the best way forward to address issues afflicting the Kalenjin community.

“CCM is in talks with Kanu and other leaders from Rift Valley. We are not yet on matters to do with 2022 but what is of concern now is development in this region,"  the former Bomet governor told the Star on the phone.

The former Council of Governors chairman on Monday hosted Kanu chairman and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi.

He said Rift Valley residents should not be dictated to about which party they should support and which candidate to elect.

“We should let democracy prevail and people should not be bulldozed into parties against their wishes. Rift Valley is not a one-party region. Demonisation of other parties should stop as all of us have a right,” he said.

In the 2017 General Election, the DP led the Kalenjin community to vote for the Jubilee Party and its candidates almost to a man.

Ruto who is keen to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022 has ring-fenced Rift Valley and other areas, giving him a head start in his State House bid.

Gideon, the son of former President Daniel Moi, is in ODM leader Raila Odinga's succession matrix. He has been reenergised and is pulling out all the stops to break Ruto's grip on the vote-rich region.

Kanu and CCM have signed a post-election agreement with the ruling Jubilee Party.

Rutto said on Tuesday they will take advantage of the deal with the government to address the plight of tea, maize and milk farmers, as well as the thorny issue of Mau Forest evictions.

“These are the years of concerns we have discussed in our meetings. We want a lasting solution to annual evictions in Mau Forest and the people who have been evicted should be settled. There is the ongoing discussion on tea sector reforms which we want to be part of,” he said.

On Monday the government announced that in the next 11 weeks it will work on a lasting solution to the Mau Forest evictions that have pitted the Kipsigis, Ogiek and Maasai communities against each other in perennial conflicts over land.

About 40,000 families have been evicted from the largest water tower in southern Kenya.

Rutto said the government should also address the caveat imposed on lands in the larger Kuresoi area to Narok South where residents cannot buy or sell.

“It should be addressed as soon as possible. People cannot be owning lands that they cannot put to use,” he said.

Rutto also expressed concerns about the statements by a section of the leaders from Rift Valley, cautioning they risk polarising the multiethnic region that was worst affected by the 2007-08 post-election violence.

In the Monday meeting in Tumoi, Nandi, the Baringo senator who has started criss-crossing the country, said together with other like-minded leaders from other parties, they will support the BBI as it seeks to transform the lives of Kenyans.

Gideon said the success of BBI will see devolution strengthened through increased revenue to the counties, justifying support for it.

"We want content that will help our people... we support it because inside it, we want more funds to our counties, what is there for youth and also women," he stated.

The Baringo senator also said they will continue engaging leaders from other coalitions supporting BBI ahead of countrywide meet-the-people popularisation tours.

When asked if he was now working with Gideon, Cherang’any MP Joshua Kutuny expressed reservations, saying, “I will only work with truthful leaders who are committed to what they say."

“Once bitten, twice shy. I don’t work with people who can turn against an agreement,” he told the Star on the phone.

Kutuny and Gideon two months ago fell out over who was to be appointed director general of the Kenya Rural Roads Authority.

Kutuny said, however, they have embarked “on a journey to consolidate Rift Valley with a team of like-minded leaders to offer alternative leadership".

“Despite holding a top position in this government, we have seen how our people have been treated, how our maize, tea and milk farmers are suffering. We want a leadership that will address these issues with commitment,” he said.

CCM secretary general Hezekia Bundotich, aka Buzeki, told the Star the party will soon be rolling out massive recruitment of members and position the outfit for competitive politics in 2022.

“CCM is growing. It will be a force to reckon with in 2022. We will team up with like-minded parties that are ready to serve Kenyans,” Buzeki who aims to succeed Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago, told the Star on phone.

However, Soy MP and Jubilee Party deputy secretary Caleb Kositany dismissed the team, saying, “The party for Rift Valley and most Kenyans is William Ruto".

“The very same people, who are going in a different direction when the community is heading in another direction, are not new. We have seen them before and it is public knowledge where they ended up. The same will befall these people too," he said.

He said despite the current challenges facing the Jubilee administration, “The DP worked hard not only to ensure that Rift Valley gets development projects but also the entire country."

“If you go to every county in Rift Valley, residents will point out what the DP has done for them. From roads to electricity to water, among others,” he said.

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