ELDORET North MP William Ruto is on the look out for a possible running mate in the 2012 presidential elections. Ruto whose camp has been boosted by the entry of ODM chairman Henry Kosgey has reportedly been holding private talks with a number of politicians in a bid to identify his possible running mate. It is expected that he will vie for the presidency through the United Democratic Movement party.
The latest meeting took place at an Eldoret hotel on Saturday night attended by Ruto, several MPs from the Rift as well as a section of leaders from Western Province led by Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo.
Ruto's search for a running mate could complicate matters for the faltering G7 alliance considering that two other members in the alliance Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka are also preparing to go it alone in the presidential race.
The resolve of the group coalescing around Ruto has been boosted after they were able to secure the UDM and got the backing of Kosgey. The only matter pending is the question of who will be his running mate.
Roads minister Franklin Bett indicated his willingness to play second fiddle to Ruto or any other person intending to run for the presidency. "I'm making myself available for the vice presidential slot. But if that does not materialise, then there are other seats,"said Bett speaking at a function in his constituency over the weekend.
But at yet another function in Kisii, Bett endorsed Prime Minister Raila Odinga's bid for the presidency and even indicated his intention to run for any of the ODM party posts currently being held by rebel MPs including Kosgey and Ruto.
Among those Ruto is reportedly considering as possible running mates include Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa and Tourism minister Najib Balala. Wamalwa has however insisted that he will go for presidency and nothing short of that.
Other sources close to Ruto indicated that he was considering having a woman as his running mate and among the list of possible candidates include an MP from Eastern Province and another one from the Coast region.
“Ruto’s name will be on the ballot paper come 2012. That is why we are busy building bridges across the country and our plan is working”, said Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny. He said the issue of who will be Ruto’s running mate will be resolved once they complete their cross country outreach rallies to seek support for Ruto.
Kutuny said Ruto's support in the Rift Valley had been fully consolidated after Kosgey shifted his allegiance to Ruto instead of Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Ruto’s 2012 schemes have caused jitters among other presidential candidates especially after he met with Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania. Sources indicate that he will be meeting two other African presidents in the coming weeks.
The G7 Group which Ruto is part of, plans to have all its luminaries make separate stabs at the presidency in 2012 and occasion a run off during which they will rally behind their most successful one.
The alternative is to field one presidential aspirant for the race but subject to other circumstances which may prevail between now and the polls. For now however, G7 members including Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Wamalwa and Uhuru Kenyatta are planning for separate bids. “I will be naming a team to look into the possibility of a Kalonzo presidential candidacy in 2012”, the VP said at a recent meeting in Eldoret.
Others who have expressed interest in the presidency include Gatanga MP and National Planning and Vision 2010 assistant minister Peter Kenneth who said he will soon officially launch his bid and the party he will as a vehicle in the race.
Kenneth also dismissed claims that he was going to be Raila's running mate and urged the electorate to vet those presenting their candidacy and specifically their development record at the constituency level.. “Some politicians have been in Parliament for close to 30 years but the poverty in their constituencies has become a tourists’ attraction. We cannot have foreigners touring slums to view poverty. How can such a candidate say he wants to manage this country,” he said in a veiled reference to Raila.
Gichugu MP Martha Karua has also declared here intention to run for the presidency as a Narc-Kenya candidate. She was in Minnesota, USA this weekend where she addressed the Gotab Gaa (unity of the people) meeting which was broadcast live to Kenya via a local vernacular radio station.
Speaking in Kisumu, Raila dismissed as 'minor political players' those intending to run against him in 2012. Speaking in Dholuo, Raila said his rivals for the presidency could not match his bid and described the group that had formed to stop him as "rats who want to attack a fierce cat.""They are like rats that are plotting against the cat but they cannot get near him to bell the cat or lay down their trap,' he said adding that he was endowed with 'cat powers.'
Addressing a rally at Nyamarambe yesterday on his tour of Kisii just a day after President Kibaki had made the same tour, Raila repeated his criticism of his rivals for the presidency saying they did not measure up to his standards. “Some people still want to take us back to Egypt while others want me to take them to Caanan. We must fulfill this resolve,” said Raila who was hosted by Ford People MP Manson Nyamweya who announced his support for a Raila presidential bid.
The rally at Nyamarambe was attended by five cabinet ministers and several MPs who endorsed the PM as the best candidate to "lead Kenyans from Egypt to Caanan."
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