MPs hint at Ruto-Uhuru pact

Eldoret North MP William Ruto with Kass-Standard Marathon committee chairman Moses Tanui at Eldoret Municipal ground, on Sunday. Photo: Peter Ochieng’/Standard
By Standard Team
A group of politicians is weighing between Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto to be its flag bearer in 2012.
Speaking in Cherangany, on Sunday, Water Assistant Minister Ferdinand Waititu and MPs John Mututho and Joshua Kuttuny said talks over the Kikuyu-Kalenjin alliance were in top gear.
And, in Eldoret, Ruto and Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa said they were building a force that would sweep away old guards in 2012.
"I, my friend here (Eugene) and another one from that region (pointing towards Central Province) are working on something to take us there," said Ruto.
Mr Wamalwa took on Prime Minister Raila Odinga, saying he was unreliable.
"Do you know an animal that looks like a horse and a zebra at the same time. That is a donkey. This man you used to call arap Mibei behaves like this animal," said Wamalwa.
Kicked them like a donkeyRaila earned the tag arap Mibei (a man from the lake) when the Kalenjin threw their support behind him in the run up to the 2007 General Election.
Wamalwa claimed Raila worked to the downfall of his brother and former Vice-President the late Kijana Wamalwa, did the same for former President Moi, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and now President Kibaki.
"He kept kicking them all like the donkey does. Can you trust this man again? He can only fool some people some time but he cannot fool all the people all the time," Wamalwa said.
He added: "The Eldoret champion is William Rudisha Ruto and Kitale’s is Eugene Rudisha Wamalwa. Tutaungana turudishe wazee nyumbani (We will team up to send old politicians home)."
They spoke at the Kass-Standard Group Marathon in Eldoret town.
Ruto said: "There is a major race coming up in the next two years. We should unite as youthful generation of leaders to win the game because it is time for those working with Kibaki to go home and relax".
At the same time, the Mututho team said they would shield Ruto and Uhuru from political prosecutions schemed by certain politicians from other regions.
"The 2012 political strategy between the two politicians (Uhuru and Ruto) has been sealed and deliberations are on who should be the President," said Mututho, who is the Naivasha MP.
Speaking during a funds drive in Kapsara Secondary School, Cherangany constituency, the MPs urged the two communities to forget the past and embrace peace.
Mututho said Rift Valley and Central provinces had sizeable number of votes to easily make someone ascend to power if they voted en bloc. The leaders said Ruto and Uhuru were being witch-hunted by certain politicians to sabotage their ambitions.
Communities’ responsibility
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights adversely mentioned the two as having a hand in the 2007/2008 post-election violence. The two have since moved to court to have their names expunged from a list of alleged perpetrators of the chaos.
Mututho and his team now claim the duo’s indictment was a scheme to have them carry their communities’ responsibility.
Meanwhile, Uhuru has declared his 2012 presidential ambitions and a possible alliance for Central Kenya as Kamukunji MP Simon Mbugua urged Uhuru to reach out for Ruto and other politicians disgruntled with their party politics for a ‘national’ alliance.
Speaking at Kirere in Kigumo constituency, Uhuru lamented that leaders in Central had formed so many political parties that were perilous to the unity of residents.
Uhuru’s announcement came after ministers Chirau Mwakwere (Trade), John Michuki (Environment) and Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau, who accompanied him, said Kenyans had faith in him and would support his presidential candidature.
—Reports by Titus Too, Osinde Obare, Job Weru and Boniface Gikandi