Ruto rethinking alliance with Uhuru

By Vincent BartooEldoret North MP William Ruto appears to have yielded to pressure from his Rift Valley backyard to end his political marriage with Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.
Ruto, who is fighting accusations of crimes against humanity at The Hague, broke the news on a vernacular radio station on Monday morning.

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta(Left) and Eldoret North MP William Ruto(Right)

During an interview on Kass FM, which broadcasts in the Kalenjin language, the suspended Higher Education minister declared he would go it alone in next year’s presidential race. He gave the strongest indication yet that he might part ways with Uhuru in the battle for State House.
At one moment during the interview, the MP almost lost his cool when he was asked whether he was using the Kalenjin community for his own ends.
"Whoever is spreading such propaganda is out of his mind. I would never do anything like that. My interests are those of my people," he said.
Ruto told listeners that his decision was motivated by central Kenya’s past voting patterns. He said the same was the case with Nyanza where he expected little support.
"They do not vote for anyone apart from their own," he said in the station’s morning show, Le nee Emet (What is the world saying).
Ruto expressed doubt that voters in Uhuru’s backyard would accord him any political support, and said he would instead hunt for support elsewhere, using his expanding countrywide network to lobby other regions behind his presidential bid.
"We have friends in other parts of the country who I am relying on to back us in this race," he said.
Interestingly, Ruto conceded that Prime Minister Raila Odinga would likely win the first round of the 2012 presidential race, but added he would not meet the constitutional threshold to be declared President.
Ruto regretted the high number of presidential candidates and said if it were a contest between him and Raila, he would beat him hands down.
"But I am confident that I would come in second (in 2012), and others like Uhuru third and fourth," said Ruto.
He would then consider forming an alliance with whoever comes in third to build a strong challenge to Raila in the presidential run-off.
The MP said he would contest the presidency on a United Democratic Movement (UDM) ticket, adding that his race would end up in the finish line.
"You can hold me to my word on this. I supported others in the past, this time I want them to support me," said Ruto, referring to Uhuru.
The Eldoret North MP said differences over control of UDM and other issues, including its symbol, had been resolved, and asked his supporters to be ready to join the party.
It is understood that UDM supporters in other parts of the country were uncomfortable with the use of a milk churn as the party symbol, as it depicted a Kalenjin party.
Ruto said the party had gained a national appeal after bagging civic seats in Matuga and Embu, adding the ward wins had indicated its popularity.
Ruto’s supporters in the region have been questioning the results of the alliance, expressing doubt that it would reap any political benefits.
Some of the legislators in the Rift Valley who spoke to The Standard also conceded they were not keen on the alliance for the 2012 General Election. The MPs who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing a political backlash, said their electorate did not approve of the alliance.
"To be honest it (alliance) is not popular. The locals would rather someone else than Uhuru," said an MP from the North Rift.
He went on to reveal that should Prime Minister Raila Odinga move to mend fences with the region’s leaders ahead of 2012, "many leaders would welcome the move".
"It is just that William (Ruto) will never entertain such a move and is already opposed to those suggesting it," added the MP.
Many of the region’s MPs, added another legislator, fear telling Ruto the truth about the feelings on the ground due to the risk of alienation.
"Many fear being branded traitors as has happened before with those who appeared to associate themselves with the Prime Minister," said the MP.
Over the weekend, on Saturday, Ruto met councillors from the North Rift, some of who were reportedly daring enough to ask him about his alliance with Uhuru and its value for them.
They were categorical that they expected Ruto to run for president and not to be Uhuru’s running mate. A tactical Ruto is said to have told the councillors he would convince Uhuru, the Gatundu North MP, to become his running mate.
"When you help till your neighbour’s land, you also expect him to till yours when you need his help. That is what I will tell Uhuru," Ruto is reported to have said.
The next day on Sunday, Ruto was to host Uhuru for a fundraising meeting in Kabobo area of his constituency, but the latter is said to have cancelled the trip at the eleventh hour.
A close ally of Uhuru in the region intimated to The Standard that Uhuru got wind of what transpired at Ruto’s meeting with the civic leaders and decided to call off the trip.
Contacted, Uhuru’s spokesman, Munyori Buku, however, said his boss had not confirmed attendance although the function had been booked in his diary.
Observers in Rift Valley see Ruto’s shift in strategy as largely driven by the Kalenjin uneasiness with dalliance with central Kenya leaders. His falling out with Raila over his case at the International Criminal Court at The Hague prompted the alliance with Uhuru.
While MPs under Ruto’s camp have been whipped into supporting his political strategy, Ruto risks losing grassroots support as the feelings on the ground are different.
Pressure has been mounting on him to end his dalliance with central Kenya, with fresh calls made at the weekend in separate meetings he held with North Rift leaders.
Unresolved past differences between the Kalenjin and Kikuyu communities is said to be the catalyst for the growing opposition to a Rift Valley/central Kenya alliance.
However, the recent resettlement of IDPs from other parts of the country in the Rift Valley is the spark that brought to the fore disquiet at the grassroots.
The move by the Government to buy land in the Rift Valley for IDPs has been seen as the undesired outcome of the alliance between Ruto and central Kenya leaders.
In Burnt Forest, Ruto’s erstwhile supporters have now turned against him and told him off over the controversy around the planned settlement of IDPs at Chemusian Farm
Locals have opposed the resettlement of IDPs on the 2,000-acre farm. They also want their own landless people resettled.
The issue came up in Monday’s Kass FM interview with listeners putting Ruto to task about it. Listeners demanded to know Ruto’s position on what they termed "importation of foreigners" into Rift Valley by the Government in the guise of resettling IDPs.
Locals see Ruto’s silence over the controversy that broke out almost three weeks ago as the product of his alliance with central Kenya leaders. On Kass FM, Ruto broke his silence and sought to convince listeners that there was no plan to resettle IDPs on their land.
He disclosed that he was the one who negotiated with the Government to buy the land for squatters who were evicted from Embobut and Kipkurere forests in Marakwet and Uasin Gishu.
"Any plan to resettle IDPs on the land is therefore wrong. It was not intended for them. I had even sent (Marakwet East MP Linah) Kilimo to survey the land for her people and she approved it," he said.
Ruto said the landless, about 40 families in Burnt Forest, would have been considered for settlement on the farm in the initial plan. But the chairman of the Chemusian Kalenjin Squatters, Bramwel Kimeli told The Standard in Eldoret that Ruto should stop misleading them.
"We know the Government intended to resettle IDPs from other regions from the word go. Why was he (Ruto) silent all this time as we protested?" he posed.
History seems to be repeating itself in this scenario as Ruto was in 2007 forced to support Raila by the electorate in Rift Valley against his wishes.
By declaring he will run for president against widespread perceptions that he would be Uhuru’s running mate, Ruto is again heeding voices from the ground.