Sunday, November 4, 2012

Will Raila team tame Ruto’s dominance in Rift Valley?


By Vincent Bartoo
ELDORET, KENYA: Prime Minister Raila Odinga continues with his charm offensive in Rift Valley this week, even as it is becoming clear Eldoret North MP William Ruto may not heed to his political overtures.
Raila meets another batch of Kalenjin elders from the North Rift on Monday, a week after he met those from the South Rift in Nakuru.
Although the PM cut the figure of an optimist telling residents on Friday he still hoped to work with Ruto, the reality is fast dawning that he may have to devise a new strategy to win support in the vote rich Rift Valley.
And this strategy may, according to sources close to the PM, be to capitalise on mounting opposition from voters in the region to the political direction Ruto has chosen for the 2013 General Election.
This follows a declaration by MPs allied to Ruto this week that their alliance with Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta for the March 4 polls was almost a done deal.
This announcement has opened a new battlefront, pitting the Ruto group of MPs in the region and those in the PM’s stable.
Another loophole, the PM’s party ODM could capitalise on is the possible falling out over the proposed zoning of political strongholds by TNA and URP.
Already, signs of the battle have shown with Agriculture Minister Sally Kosgei not shying away from bashing Ruto’s political direction.
“What is this Ruto has seen in these people (Uhuru group)? These are the same people who humiliated us by sacking me alongside others from our community in Government. Do you want us to go back there?” she posed.
She was referring to her sacking as Head of Civil Service, during which she claimed she was sent home without her send- off package. Later, an envelope containing Sh500,000 was sent to her, long after she was ejected from the Office of the President.
Speaking in Kalenjin during the burial of former paramount chief, Mzee John Burgei Tuwei in Nandi, which Raila attended, Dr Kosgei said Ruto had assigned himself the duty of deciding the political future of the Kalenjin.
“No one wishes Ruto bad, but these secret meetings in hotels in Nairobi to decide the fate of the community does not augur well with us,” she said.
Kosgei said the community’s interests should come first when making pre-election deals.
“They say in politics it is about interests, but as Kalenjins we are insisting that it should be about the community’s interest and nothing else,” she added.
Gullible people
Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey claimed the vision of the Kalenjin people was “being hijacked”.
“Why are you so gullible? Why is it easy to lie to you? Put your foot down and say no to this, you are not feeble people,” he said.
On the other hand, Ruto’s allies have started a campaign to vilify Raila and his allies in Rift Valley to cast Uhuru as the better politician to work with.
Speaking on Kass FM this week, Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto and his Cherangany counterpart Joshua Kuttuny said Uhuru was a better option.
They declared the interests of the community were better served in a URP-TNA alliance than a pact with Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) led by Raila.
“There is no guarantee in ODM that he (Raila) will not sacrifice Ruto once he gets to State House. At least for Uhuru, they share the same predicament with William (Ruto),” said Kuttuny.
 He added that the case facing Ruto and Uhuru at the International Criminal Court (ICC) was a prominent issue in their alliance talks.
“Agenda one, two, three is the ICC. We cannot go into a pact while relegating this issue. That is why we prefer people who are going through what we are going through,” said Kuttuny.
The MPs asked the Kalenjin community not to be “overly” anxious with a URP-TNA alliance.
“You cannot just wish away the people of Mt Kenya. We have to work with them. In fact, it is an open secret that if we unite, Kenya would unite,” said Kuttuny.
But also speaking on Kass FM, East African Community Minister Musa Sirma warned against what he described as blind loyalty by Rift MPs.
 “Why should we rush to support him (Uhuru) yet he has not returned the 2002 favour our community bestowed upon him when President Moi picked him as his successor?” he posed.
Achievements
In response to strong opposition by locals on a Uhuru-Ruto alliance, the MPs assured the Kalenjin community that they were taking care of their interests and would not “sell them out”.
 “Do not rush to condemn what we are doing. It is for the greater good of the community. You elected us as your leaders and we cannot betray you,” said Ruto.
The MPs said they were making final deliberations before making “the big announcement in a matter of days”. They dismissed claims that they had not consulted saying their decision to back Uhuru was through consensus.
“We are meeting weekly as MPs and we have also brought on board elders from our community so that consultations are wide and inclusive,” said Ruto.
On Saturday, Kuttuny hit out at Dr Kosgei for questioning what Uhuru had done for the Kalenjin people despite the community voting for him almost to a man in the 2002 General Election.
Kuttuny said Dr Kosgei does not have ground “to throw mud at others yet she had failed her own people”.
“What has she done for our people ever since she was appointed Agriculture Minister? There are protests today over the reduction of the price of maize produced by majority of our people,” he said.
Kuttuny claimed Dr Kosgei’s performance record compared with Ruto’s tenure at the ministry was “like day and night”.
“Today farmers in Rift Valley are a demoralised lot. Ruto had uplifted their hopes by increasing the price of maize and reducing the cost of fertiliser,” he added.





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