Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Ruto allies in show of might


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Mr William Ruto. Photo/FILE
Mr William Ruto. Photo/FILE 
By JULIUS SIGEI jsigei@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Tuesday, April 3  2012 at  22:30
IN SUMMARY
  • Kamatusa meeting meant to project him as more than a Kalenjin kingpin, argue analysts
The congregation of leaders from the Kalenjin, Maasai, Turkana and Samburu (Kamatusa) communities in Eldoret on Tuesday is widely viewed as an attempt by area MP William Ruto to stamp his authority as the Rift Valley political supremo.

That Mr Ruto was always keen to project his support base as a Kamatusa rather than Kalenjin was seen when he installed former National Assembly Speaker Francis ole Kaparo as the chairman of his new political vehicle, United Republican Party.
His move to project himself as more than a Kalenjin kingpin was also reinforced when he roped in Turkana Central MP Ekwee Ethuro and made him the party’s spokesperson at the URP launch.
In what is seen as a response to a meeting by leaders from central Kenya two weeks ago, nearly all MPs from the larger Kalenjin community attended the meeting as did Mr Ethuro and Turkana councillors and religious leaders from the Maa-speaking areas.
That the meeting was also meant to sound a warning to Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s loyalists in the region was betrayed by Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny who said “anybody who still toes another line will be shocked”.
“We want battle lines to be drawn as to who is in and who is out. Anybody who does not empathise with Mr Ruto’s predicament in The Hague will be punished harshly by voters,” said Mr Kutuny at the Catholic Pastoral Centre.
Roads minister Franklin Bett, who is an ally of Mr Odinga, recently lamented that vying for a seat outside the URP will be political suicide for area MPs. Mr Ruto, who has been trying to step into retired President Moi’s shoes after the latter left office, managed to whip the community into rejecting the proposed constitution during the 2010 referendum.
He, however, has to contend with leaders such as Heritage minister William ole Ntimama, who does not subscribe to his political thinking.
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Mr Ntimama, who is Mr Odinga’s pointman in Narok, has been particularly virulent in his attacks, telling the former Higher Education minister that “Rift Valley is not equivalent to Kalenjin.”
Other leaders who are seeking a stranglehold on the vote-rich Rift Valley are Mr Odinga and former powerful minister Nicholas Biwott, who has been dusting his NVP in preparation for polls.
Then there is Mr Moi, who has been trying to save Kanu from deregistration after it failed to call meetings to put its house in order.
The Kamatusa meeting comes at a time Mr Ruto is facing ICC charges and also fighting to have his name on the ballot in the next elections.
“Like it happened at the Limuru II Conference in which Mr Kenyatta’s supporters talked tough on the cases, Mr Ruto’s meet was also meant to show the world that he has a solid constituency behind him,” says political analyst Bill Ruto.
Moi University lecturer Peter Simatei argues that while the Limuru conference was meant to show that Mr Kenyatta’s supporters could not let him deputise anyone, Mr Ruto is also sending a message that he is also no pushover.
“Ruto is performing a Gema-like show. Any plan to support Uhuru is really unpopular and he is preparing ground to go it alone,” Prof Simatei says.
Yet there is also the theory that Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta are reading from the same script and that each was tasked to solidify their support bases before bringing them in one basket.

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